Born To Run
by EvilBlackBunny
Summary: Roxy left Arizona with Optimus to rejoin the Autobots. But Roxy has a secret that no one sees coming. How far will she go to keep it? And, can love really conquer all? OPxOC COMPLETE!
1. Lesson 1: Sleep

This is the sequal to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT!

XXXXXXX

Sleep. It was a good thing. It was something essential for all organic life. But can too much of it be a bad thing? Optimus was unsure of what to do about the current situation happening in his front seat. A young female human, a red haired green eyed one named Roxy, was asleep in his cab. Now, he had no problem with her sleeping there. He enjoyed the contact, but she had been there for hours.

Fifteen full hours. It was three thirty – three thirty six to be exact- in the afternoon. Should he wake her up? Should he let her sleep? Was she even **breathing**?

"ngg, morning."came from the warm sleepy lump. The mental debate was over.

"Afternoon is more like it." he responded, tone calm.

"Mhm. Were you driving the whole time?" She was still sleepy. And hungry. And severely dehydrated.

"yes, and we should stop here so that you can eat." he slowly pulled into a near by truck stop, gaining odd looks as he passed the few people there. A peterbuilt truck with a custom paint job was a rare sight.

He received even stranger looks when a teenaged girl toppled out of his cab and wobbled into the small shop connected to a diner. He watched her go around collecting things she would need.

Wait, did she have money? He mentally slapped himself; he should have told her to bring money.

Okay, right now he had to focus on Roxy. Apparently she had thought to bring money, for she now had a bag in one hand. The other pocketing the money. She hopped back in, and shut his door herself. They had enough people watching them. She sifted through the bag, not noticing the hologram flicker to life.

Optimus moved the hologram so that it looked at her.

"GAH!" she said loudly, earning a smile from the 'man'.

"Okay from now on say something before you do that." she mumbled, slightly annoyed. She observed the man, making sure she knew every feature. At least five nine, black, short cut hair that was slightly graying at the temples. He wore black jeans and boots, a plain white tank top [the manly kind. Not a spaghetti strap. that covered a well toned chest. Not overly muscular though. He was also adorned with the autobot insignia on his right arm. And finally, a small, pale scar on the right cheekbone. (1)

Accurate and believable. "I like your bot form better." she smiled, still apparently tired. She pulled out a gatorade and stopped, thinking. She looked at the hologram.

"So, if you have to use that when you drive then that...means..." her eyes got big, and the holo quirked an eyebrow.

"OH MY GAWD! YOU WERE SITTING ON MY HEAD?!" He knew she would do that. She always did something like that when she wanted to make him -or any overly serious autobot- smile or at least lighten up. It had worked, because the holo was smiling.

"Point being? You, Roxy, have sat on my head multiple times. And yet I have never complained." he looked at her, still smiling. _'And Ratchet's, and Bumble Bee's, And Iron Hide's, and Jazz's...' _she had this thing about being on there heads.

Roxy was now drinking the gatorade, signaling that the conversation was over.

Xxxx Seven hours later xxxX

"Your Serious?"

"Yes."

"He hates dogs now?"

"No, just one crack head Chihuahua."

"Crack head? Hell, don't bother, I'll figure it out."

"Are you alright Roxy? You seem quiet."

"I'm still getting over the fact that you were on my head."

He doubted that that was the problem. But still, prying was not something he liked doing, and Roxy did not like negative attention. He let it go, noticing how dark it was getting.

"where are we now?'' She had to know. She was freaking out. Though Roxy would never admit it, but all that time in a ten by ten room made her despise confinement. A lot. A whole lot. Like, more than most could comprehend hatred. To put it shortly, she was a bit claustrophobic.

Well, unless inside an autobot.

"We've actually made excellent time. We're early. It should be a few minutes." He paused. He felt something bounce on his seat. Apparently, Roxy was hyper. Very very hyper.

The bouncing continued when they pulled into the Lennox driveway.

Who else was in the driveway was another matter. There, in the gravel, sat a yellow 2008 Chevy Camero and a custom black Topkick pick up. The vehicles shifted as silently as possible [which was actually impossible. to meet their three-days-missing leader.

"Optimus! Where the hell were you?" [2 Sadly, IronHide had forgotten that most humans, and bots, were asleep at this time of night. Not him, oh no, not a pissed off, worried-but-will-never-say-it IronHide.

"Hello to you to, Hide." The fatigue filled leader replied, still in truck form.

"HIDE!" The bot mentioned from the random scream leaned down to look for the noise. He found the noise maker when she used her old greeting on him; running at his legs at full speed.

The resounding thump that occurred after skin to shin contact caused Will, Sarah, Sam an Mikela to exit the large shared house.

"Bee? What was that sound?" Sam asked from his spot next to Mikela. Said bot could not answer, for he was as confused as his charges.

"Hide..." said a voice on the ground. "Did your legs get harder?"

IronHide, recognizing the voice, picked Roxy up from her crumpled but happy position.

"No, your head got softer." He glared at her with peircing blue optics, but he wavered when she scrambled onto his head, proving Optimus' earlier point.

"Prime, who is that girl?" Will asked from his place.

"Everyone, this is Roxy." Bumble Bee said, cheek plates raised in what could be a smile.

Roxy, not knowing Bee could talk, looked around searching for the voice.

"Who said what now?" She got her answer when Bee got within jumping distance.

"I did Roxy." he said with a smile in his voice. Her response was music to his audio receptors.

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!" a quick lunge and she was on his shoulder, making both absolutely ecstatic.

"Dang it Bee! Do you WANT to wake Ratchet up?" Sam hissed.

"I am already awake." came an angry, tired medic. He looked at the strange group, and said the sanest thing anyone had heard that night.

"Don't. Just, Don't. You can tell me in the morning." he looked at Roxy, blinked, and left, apparently too tired to converse with the friendly teen aged girl. She waved franticly at him, his only acknowledgment being a nod. It was enough to make her grin.

"Um, guys?" Everyone turned to Mikela, who was proping up a tired Sam.

"Is Optimus okay?"

The Autobot leader was silent since about the arival time.

"Something tells me 48 hours of no sleep is bad for a bot." Sarah mumbled, heading back inside. The rest of them followed suit.

Roxy smiled at her sleeping friend, and climbed down Bee's leg to get on the ground. The two bots shifted into their alt modes, and Roxy climbed into IronHide's truck bed.

"G'night."

"Hm."

"Hehehe."

"Roxy..."

"Okay, I'll calm down"

"Like that is even possible."

"Heheh!"

"ugh."

Roxy stared at the sky. All stars could be seen from this spot. She knew she would like it here.

Lesson: Sleep is a VERY good thing.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

1 In the movie, Optimus has a marking under his right eye.

2 Sorry, I don't know any Cybertronian swears.

Okay, give me a week and I'll give you a chapter!

Remember, I LOOOVE FEEDBACK!


	2. Lesson 2: Manual

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Hide?" The disguised mech woke from stasis, noting the cute five year old in his truck bed. He also noted that Roxy was not there. "Hey little one, You seen that red haired girl that was in there? "

"Mhm. She said to get you." That woke him up.

"Why?" he felt Anna squirm, and knew it was bad. She only squirmed when she did something or knew something bad.

"Roxy in a tree cause she was climbing Sides and then she kickeded Sunny and told me to get you cause Sunny got her in a tree and- " She was freaking out, that was never a good thing.

"alright, don't worry. Show me where she went." he got his answer when Anna took off in the direction of the large, unending trees that hid the Auto bot base. [a/n: the classic abandoned hanger!

_What is it with that girl and trees?_ Ironhide thought, following his cute little charge to where he hoped Roxy would be.

meanwhile...

Why did Roxy get the feeling that she made a huge mistake? Maybe it was the fact that two large mechs, one red and one yellow, had her up a tree? Maybe it was how she was fending them off with a stick? Or, maybe, just maybe, it was the growing bruise on her right arm.

"Quit swinging that thing!" the red one called at her.

"Why? So you can squeeze me again?" she swung again, just as a familiar mech and cute five year old came into view.

"Oh slag, Iron Hide." The yellow one said, getting the red ones attention. Said mech had whipped out his cannons, not happy with the twins at all.

"Roxy, what happened?" He yelled at the girl.

"I came here I climbed him," she pointed at Sides with her stick. "He grabbed at me, I kicked him, he dropped me," she pointed at Sunny. " I climbed up here and asked Anna to get you!" Hide was looking at her and her stick. He noticed the bruise that covered half her arm.

And then, all hell broke loose.

"WHAT DID YOU SLAGGERS DO?!" Iron Hide was beyond mad.

"Well the little glitch climbed him and then kicked m-" Roxy knew what a glitch was, and now she was clinging to the branch, pouting. _'I am so _not_ a glitch.' _she thought sourly.

"YOU KNOW HOW FRAGILE HUMANS ARE! AND DON'T CALL HER A GLITCH!" This was going nowhere. Roxy shimmied down the tree. She was by Anna a minute later. "Anna, do you know Ratchet?" Anna smiled up at her. "Yeah, he that way." With that she grabbed her hand and dragged Roxy toward the old hanger.

Ratchet was watching the odd couple come toward him. He gave no wave, no smile, no anything. Just one sentence that he new would make Roxy flip.

"Your here less than eight hours and you pissed someone off?" Roxy glared at him.

"Just check me, happy man." Ratchet picked up the grumpy red head. And stared at the bruised arm.

"Yeah, uh, I kinda had that coming." She mumbled at him.

"The red and yellow Lamborghini's?" he frowned. She nodded. "Those two fraggers are the twins Sunny and Sides. I'm guessing you tried climbing one?"

"Language. And yeah, I climbed the red one." The reason for saying to mind the language was that when she was younger and a bot would swear, Ratchet would throw something at them. Even though Iron Hide would tell her what the words meant when no one was looking. Anna was now playing with a stick, not paying attention to the two.

Ratchet set Roxy back down. "You'll get yourself squished one day if you climb everything you see." He had a point. But was it really her fault that she liked to climb? Zeke had loved nature, and so did she. That was why they got along so well. And why she and Kale didn't. He was a t.v. addict and preferred the indoors to a degree that once, Roxy broke his window just so he could get fresh air. How she got away with that was beyond her.

"Roxy?" The girl peeped at the taller teen. "Yeah Annabelle?" Anna looked where they had come from, and said. "Did Hide squish the twins?" Squish was not how she would have put it. "I think no. But lets check on them anyway. Maybe you should come too Ratchet."

There was a grunt from Ratchet's end of the conversation. They headed back, expecting to find someone 'squished.'

later...

Bumble Bee stared at the current situation, a purple duffel bag at his feet.

Iron Hide was standing in front of Optimus with one heavily dented twin pinned under each arm.

"Correct me if I'm wrong. Roxy met Anna earlier today and then Anna came to get you?" Optimus repeated what Ironhide had said to him.

"Yes sir."

"And then you followed Anna to the place Roxy and the twins were, and Roxy had been injured?" Optimus continued, a little confused as to where the humans were.

"Yes sir."

"And then you disciplined the twins and brought them here to explain what happened?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright. Now, where are the humans?"

"uh..." Okay, that was bad. Roxy was injured and missing, Anna was with Roxy. Not even six a.m. and something went bad.

"HIDE! THERE YOU ARE!" Roxy shouted from Ratchet's hand. "We thought you were having target practice!" Roxy and Anna were lowered to the ground.

"Or hiding the bodies..." Ratchet muttered.

Optimus leaned down to human level, and saw the bruise covering Roxy's arm. The blue optics narrowed. He turned to the twins. "Did you do that?"

No answer.

"Okay! I thought I could climb them but I must of pissed them off because the red one yelled 'GETITOFF!GETITOFF!.'" Roxy paused and shook her leg and nodded at Sides, who looked at her, not sure how a human could talk so fast.

"And then the yellow one grabbed me so I kicked him and then he freaked and dropped me." she then imitated what happened with Sunny, who rolled his optics at her.

"So THEN I grabbed the stick and THEN I went GAAAAAHH! And red went 'AHHHH!!!' then Hide went 'Rawr!' and I went 'ugh.' then Ratchet went 'HA!' and here I am!" she then jumped around a bit, still imitating what happened. She then flopped down on the ground, earning an LOL look from Bumble Bee.

Optimus straightened. "I see." he was a bit confused, but it made sense. In a hyper human sort of way.

"Hey! We have names squishy!" hide squeezed the twins. A glitch was one thing, but a Squishy was on a whole other level.

"Anna? Honey? Where are you?" came an older male voice from the large house. It wasn't angry, not even worried.

"Daddy!" Anna screamed happily.

"I'll learn your names after meeting Anna's daddy." Roxy followed the girl and disappeared inside.

"We're stuck with her, aren't we?" Sides asked Sunny from his spot under Iron Hide's arm. Sunny just groaned.

Lesson: Humans should come with an instruction manual.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Hi all! I hope you can forgive the heavily delayed update.

I want to thank frog1 for the cyber swears and Mrs. Optimus Prime for proof reading my stuff!

Remember, I loooooove feedback!


	3. Lesson 3: Weird

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Will had gotten used to not finding Anna in her bed. He was used to Anna coming inside from saying Hello to Iron hide. But He was not used to seeing Anna come inside with a red haired, green eyed, teenage girl in toe.

Before he could say anything, the girl raised her hands in a non-threatening manner.

"I know this looks odd, but I can say on my life that I am not a threat." Will looked her up and down. Bare feet, dirty caprys, black tank top,wild hair, and frighteningly pale skin.

She stared back, not happy with being stared at. "You may perform a search if you think you have to. But the most you'll find is my belly button." she knew it would be like this, but he had every right to be suspicious. She reluctantly assumed the position.

Anna, who was sitting on a chair, giggled at her new friend. Will was confused, and took a step closer.

"I AM THE WALLRUS! KOOKOO KA CHU! KOOKOO KOO KA CHU!" Roxy yelled in an off key voice. Will backed off, and Anna laughed.

There was a younger male voice and three sets of foot steps coming from down the hall. "Bumble Bee? What did we say about blasting Beatles music at six in the morning?" A man with curly brown hair came out with two woman following him, one black haired and one blond.

"I AM THE EGGMAN! I AM THE EGGMAN! I AM THE WALLRUS! KOOKOO KA CHU!"Roxy was now bouncing on one foot, making Anna giggle more. She then stood still, arms crossed.

"Uhh, okay, that was weird. So, who are you exactly?" Sarah asked, still sleepy.

Roxy cracked a wide, crazy grin. "Glad you asked!" she cleared her throat, and said in a clear, warm voice,

"My name is Roxanna Forester. I was born March 22nd, 1994. I love music and all things furry. I have no affiliation with any religion in particular. I am a Vegan, and my greatest defense is throwing a rock. I will not be happy if I am called Roxanna. Roxy is fine. All questions welcomed!" She smiled at the group. Sam was the first to ask a question.

"Where did you come from?"

"Phoenix Arizona." her smile faded.

Will asked one. "Why are you here?"

"Optimus found that my living conditions were crap, so he saved my butt!" she perked up.

"How do you know Optimus?" Mikeala asked in a tired voice.

"He and the other bots crashed in my back yard nine years ago." She smiled at Mikeala. She stuck out her hand and pointed at her slightly protruding belly. "Hehehe, your pregnant."Sam put a protective arm around Mikeala. Roxy frowned.

"I see you don't trust me. That's what I was expecting. Oh well, I guess I'll just prove to you I'm safe." Roxy turned back to the door she used to come in, and opened it. She then called out.

"HEY IRON HIDE?"

There was a grumble. "WHAT IS IT ROXY?"

"DO YOU TRUST ME?"

There was a short pause. "IS THAT A TRICK QUESTION?"

_'Great. Thank you for the help! I just know they'll trust me now!'_

There was a younger voice responding now. "I TRUST YOU ROXY!"

Roxy rolled her eyes. "YOU DON'T COUNT BEE YOU TRUST EVERYBODY!"

"I DO NOT!" The yellow bot yelled back.

"DO TOO!" She then closed the door and smiled helplessly at the group. "I guess that didn't help?" Sarah smiled at her.

"Well you act nice, and Anna seems to like you. You don't seem dangerous." upon hearing her name, Anna got down off the chair and walked over to Roxy.

"Daddy, are you gonna make Roxy go back to the bad room?" Will looked down at his daughter in confusion.

"What was the bad room?" he asked Both Roxy an Anna. Roxy frowned again.

"Hey Anna, how about you go play with Hide for a few minutes? I'll be out in a bit, k?" Roxy said. Anna lit up and raced outside to her big metal friend. Sam helped Mikeala into a chair. Roxy looked at the group, and took a deep breath.

"I asked her to go outside because she got the kid friendly version. The 'Bad Room' was my old bedroom. It is the reason that Optimus brought me here. I was locked in there for four years because my mom is a drunk."

She saw the widened eyes and sad looks. "That's also why I'm so pale." She smiled at them in an understanding way. "I'll be outside. Feel free to ask me anything." she slipped out the door.

That afternoon

Roxy had been playing with Anna, Ratchet had been fixing the twins and Optimus was talking to Ironhide.

"Sir, What if they don't want Roxy here? "

"I don't see why they wouldn't. She hasn't threatened them."

"Sir, she screamed Beatles music when Will approached her."

"... You have a point. That may be a bad thing."

"What if they want you to take her back?"

"I won't. Her living conditions were deplorable. What parent would lock their offspring in a room and keep them there?"

"The kind that cares more about her booze than her kid." The two mechs turned to see a red headed girl staring up at them. "Don't worry, Will spoke to me. He says I can stay if I watch my language around Anna." she smiled.

Optimus spoke. "Have you told Bumble Bee yet?" Roxy grinned at him. "No..." she bounced on her toes and ran toward the yellow mech. A moment later Roxy was screeching at Bee and running, trying to get to a place free of his happy wrath.

Optimus chuckled. "Glad to have her back." Ironhide groaned. "Yeah, I missed the head aches."

Lesson: Humans are kinda weird

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a/n: Okay, let me clear somethings up for the confused readers out there. This is DEFFINATE OPTIMUS ON ROXY STUFF! But I will tell you it won't really come out for a while. This is a big story (As in 20 plus chapters here.) and **it will get dark in places.** This is not to repel you. Just to warn you. And always remember, I looove feedback!


	4. Lesson 4: Warm

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT! Oh! Fluff Warning!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"BEE! I GET IT! YOUR HAPPY! JUST LET ME OUT!" The current situation had Sunny and Sides laughing there aft's off. Somehow, Bumble Bee had lured Roxy inside of his alt mode, locked her in, and had been doing donuts for twenty minutes straight. Bee flung open his left door (which Roxy was pressed into.) sending the teen out and into the grass. She didn't stand up.

"Roxy?" Bee said, shifting back. The twins watched Bee approach the still form, and noticed her hand curled around a rock.

Bee leaned down to get a better look, when...

_Tunk_! Roxy launched the rock at Bee's head, taking off toward the house. The deck door opened to reveal a huge white and brown thing thundering down at her, a small, fat Chihuahua going at a much slower pace. Roxy then ran back toward Bee only to find him speeding off toward the hanger, the twins screaming for her to 'Move your aft! Your gonna get plowed!' then they took off after Bee.

A second later, Roxy was under the crushing weight of an abnormally large Saint Bernard. Instead of a vicious assault of powerful jaws paired with huge fangs, she was on her back, being lashed at with a huge, pink tongue. Sam and Will had gone out to watch their dogs, and were now using all there strength to pull the hairball off of Roxy. Will now had the furry fiend by the collar, dragging it, paws flailing, into the house. All the while he yelled "TANK! WHAT THE HELL?I TOLD YOU TO SIT! N-" WHAM! The door slammed closed.

Sam was standing over Roxy, who had Mojo on her stomach. He stuck out his hand and pulled her up. She held the fat little dog and looked at him in a 'What just happened?' way. Sam smiled at her and explained. "That was Tank. He gets kinda spazzy when he meets knew people." Roxy blinked at him, and looked at Mojo.

"Okay. So, just who is this lil' fatty?" she asked him, holding the dog out, hands under the armpits.

"Oh that's Mojo. I've had him forever." Sam took Mojo from Roxy and asked if she wanted to come in. If this girl was going to stay with the Autobots, he wanted to know her better.

With a small shrug, Roxy gave a "Sure." and walked inside with Sam.

later...

Sarah had been worried when Roxy came inside. It wasn't about Tank, he was locked in their bedroom, it was that they were eating lunch. She knew very well what a vegan was, and from what they were having (which were hamburgers..) it may go badly. Instead, Roxy sat in an empty chair next to Mikela, looked around the table and asked shyly, "Got fruit?"

So, after that, Roxy went out to the hanger (which was a fifteen minute walk.) Bee had apparently forgotten the whole rock thingy and gave her the grand tour. This tour excluded Ratchet's med bay, Iron Hide's room and what would have been Jazz's room, had he not been comatose. Yes, Jazz was _in_ the room, but knowing him he would have preferred that Roxy not see him with wires and pumps all around him.

"So Roxy, what do you think?" Bee was a little sad after passing Jazz's room. Roxy smiled at him, she felt the same way.

"It's big. I'll say that much." she hadn't told them that Sarah had offered her a room in case she couldn't find a place with the bots. Roxy told her she wanted to see what it looked like first. She liked it, but she wanted to be polite and accept Sarah's offer. That, and, the bots slept on the floor. And the floor was made of concrete.

"Sarah offered me a room. I think I'll give it a try. " Optimus looked up from the data pad he was reviewing. He took her out of a room and she wanted to go into another one? Maybe she was being nice? Maybe it was something else? It did tend to get cold at night, and the hanger was old. Fear of a cave in? No, that wasn't it. Maybe-

"DO YOU FUNCTION?" A voice came from down below. It was Roxy, looking amused. She had been watching him for a minute and she was not one to tolerate being ignored. "I was saying I'd see you in the morning, ok? Till then." She walked away with a quick wave. Optimus was back to thinking about why she was acting that way. He might as well let it go. She'd probably explain things later. He went back to the data pad.

That evening.

The room was a bit larger than her old one. Maybe it was the twin bed; she really could care less. It was nicer than her old room. Sarah was watching her with a sympathetic look. Roxy didn't expect anything less. Her story was weird. She sat on the bed and smiled. "I really appreciate this. Just one thing." Sarah looked at her with a curious look.

"Can you leave the door open?"

Time: 2:16 am

Roxy had been asleep for a few hours now. She was drifting between a semi concious state and some dream having to do with a giant toothbrush. She woke up to the sounds of her door creaking open. She feigned sleep. If they were just checking on her, they would have just looked through the crack. They were in the room,and if they tried anything, she'd be ready.

They were right in front of her face. She felt sick. They were breathing on her. They stunk, whoever they were _ 'Go on, I dare you. Try something. Tempt me you sicko.' _she thought, staying calm. then there was a pressure on her arm,and she felt like lunging at them. They had rough hands, whoever they were. Very rough, and sharp nails. But then she realised something. Nails were never that close to fingers. And who had hair on their hands? She cracked an eye, and then...

_Oh... dear... god!_

"GYAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Time: 2:20

"O god Roxy, we had no idea Tank would do that!" Sarah was not happy with their dog, and Roxy was having a freak out.

"It'sokayIshouldn'tofscreamedImeanyouguysneedsleeptooandI'mjustaguest-" she was looking through her duffel bag and grabbed a small sleeping bag.

"-Soyoudon'tneedtobesorryandthat'sokayi'lljustheadtothehangerandbunkwithsomeone." Sam watched the girl. Something like a huge 200 pound saint Bernard trying to use you as a pillow would scare anyone. But this was just too scared to be normal. No one should be that scared. _'What's _really_ bothering her?' _ Roxy tripped on her own feet and dove out the back door.

Time: 2:37

The hanger had no door. It had dividers for everyones rooms but that was it. Doors were not neccesary and that was probably a good thing for Roxy. She had calmed down a lot during the walk and thanks to the tour Bee gave her she knew just where to find her bunk buddy.

Why Optimus was awake at two in the morning was beyond her. He was with another data pad and looked tired but knowing him he liked to get a lot done. He was done with the pad and turned to his section of floor. That was when he noticed Roxy standing there with a cross look on her face.

"I thought you said you would see me in the morning?" He mumbled in a friendly manner.

"It IS morning." She had gone from scared to cranky. "Fraggin' perverted dog."

She was right, about the time, not the dog. Optimus had already laid down and beckoned the very grouchy girl with one hand. She walked into the large, dark room and set up camp infront of Optimus, about ten feet away. Big mech's needed space. She stretched out on the thin bag and curled up, back towards her bot friend.

She flipped over to face him, her only guide were his optics. "Ok, goodnight." she flipped back over.

A moment later, the whole world shifted. Something pulled the bag backwards until she heard a low, pulsing humming sound. She was somewhere warmer than a minute ago. She looked around and met familiar blue optics. She was a foot from Optimus' spark. He was using his right arm as a pillow and had his left hand on his right to form some sort of circle around her.

"Don't you mean morning? Sleep well Roxy." the blue optics shut and everything was dark. Roxy closed her eyes. She scooted back toward his spark and relaxed. She was back with the giant toothbrush in a minute.

Lesson: Dogs are warm, but so are mechs.

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Okay people! I need your honest opinion. I want to bring Jazz back, but I want to know what you think.

Thank you for the feed back! Happy holidays!!!


	5. Lesson 5: Spazz

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

**WARNING!!! IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE ABOUT BLOOD, SWEARING OR A HUMAN FEMALES MENSTRAL CYCLE, SPARE US BOTH AND READ THE WARNINGS!**

ON WITH IT!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The hanger had few windows. It was dark in most rooms but not in the one of the Autobot leader. The one window was clouded with dust, but still let in some light. Optimus was waking from stasis when he felt a very familiar warm lump pressed into his abdomen. The young teen had yet to wake up. It had only been a few hours since the attack of the hyper dog. He never liked to wake her up so he did the only thing he could really do.

He watched her while she was sleeping.

Despite the fact that he was made of metal (extremely advanced metal that could sense heat, cold, pain and comfort.) he could just feel the heart beat , slow and calm. He could hear her breathing. He could see the calmed face, unmoving and content. These were the times in his infinite life that made him forget the war. If only for a second.

"'s na ma fauw, you sah on I'.." Roxy mumbled, half awake. She yawned and stretched, rubbing on his chest plate in the

process. She had yet to notice that he was awake. It took her a moment to feel the two burning cobalt optics watching her warm up for the day ahead. She turned to meet his gaze and smiled. "Good morning." she croaked from her sleep dried throat. Optimus was looking further down her body. Not her face or her chest. He was staring in what she had made out to be horror at her pants. That was when she looked down, not sure why he was freaked out for. Then, she saw what had his attention.

(a/n: Look out! DX)

Blood. "Oh crap." was all she could say before she was in the air, being rushed to Ratchet's med bay.

Optimus' cerebral processor was going a thousand miles a minute._ 'Did I cut her last night? Did she get it from Tank? Maybe I moved and pinched something? Oh Primus what if she lost too much blood? Can a human bleed from their belly button?!' _his footsteps thundered down the corridors to the med bay.

Ratchet was not ready for what he saw. Optimus was holding an embarrassed looking Roxy in one hand, and grabbing Ratchet's arm with the other. "# ,, :::--:#$$& ;; !"

_'Dammit, they switched to cybertronian on me.' _Roxy thought, now in Ratchets hand, slowly being lowered onto the makeshift metal table. Ratchet scanned her fully from head to toe, a still freaked out Prime behind him. Shifting her gaze toward Prime in the background, Roxy looked back to the medic with a look that said simply 'you tell him.' he blinked and turned to Optimus, leading him to a corner of the med bay by the shoulder and the elbow. After a few seconds of cybertronian speech, Optimus turned toward Roxy, then whipped his head back at the medic. Then more cybertronian.

Bot angle. 

Ratchet tugged Optimus over to a corner of the med bay. _**"Optimus, this is normal."**_ Optimus blinked and turned to see Roxy, then looked at the medic._** "Just how qualified are you?" **_it was practically a snap. Ratchet tiredly explained what was happening to Roxy. He had a similar conversation with Bumble Bee a few years ago.

"_**She is, essentially, going through heat. It's known as a 'Period' to humans, and all human females go through it during the teenage years. It can cause her to say and do things that she doesn't mean, so be patient with her." **_

Optimus muttered something like 'When am I **not** patient?' _**"The bleeding can last anywhere from two to six days. If it lasts any longer than a week, then you can freak out."**_ he crossed his arms at his commander, who proceeded to release air from his filters. Ratchet walked past Optimus toward Roxy, who really looked unhappy to say the least.

Human angle. 

"I'll leave you two alone." Ratchet had left the med bay, completely ignoring the twins, who had been awakened by their commander's loud footfalls. Optimus had slowly approached Roxy, irate from her earlier journey. He was, to say the least, a bit embarrassed. He had over-reacted, but what would any other Autobot have done?

"So, that was normal?"

"Yes."

"And you knew that it was normal?"

"Yes."

"May I ask why you said nothing?"

"Well, how would you react if I were to say, 'Oh, don't worry! This is perfectly normal!'"

"...Good point." he looked down at her. There was a long pause.

"Well, it shows that you pay attention. Um, do me a favor?" she said softly. He tilted his head. "Show me your hands." he did so, confused as to why. She checked the one he carried her in, and leaned back happily. "Okay, I'm good."

"Hm?"

"Thought I bled on you." She gave a weak smile, and climbed into his waiting hand.

Time: 9:43. End of 'Grr' stage. 

(a/n: ' You can look now.)

Optimus had brought Roxy to the Lennox household for a change of clothes. Roxy thanked him and went inside. A few moments later, Optimus heard a scraping noise and water hitting a shower curtain. After a moment of thought, he sat down next to Ironhide, who was just coming out of truck form, Bee doing the same.

There was an awkward silence between them, When Ironhide spoke up.

"So, Ratchet says that you freaked out this morning."

Optimus looked over at the weapon specialist.

"I suppose if you want to put it that way, then yes."

They heard a noise from Bumble Bee similar to a snort.

"And it was nothing life threatening?"

A snicker from the yellow bot.

"Correct."

Bee was now covering his mouth plate, static escaping in short bursts. Optimus looked at Bee with mild annoyance. "Are you laughing at my concern for Roxy? If I recall, you went through a similar incident with Mikela."

The yellow bot was in hysterics. "No-i jus-haha-on his nose-ahaha! Lookit his nose!" Bee was laughing his aft off, pointing at Ironhide. It was a moment later that two twin canons were on the laughing bot

"Just what is so funny about my nose?" Upon closer inspection, Optimus found the source of the laughter.

A pink, glittery flower sticker. "Ironhide, you have a sticker on your nose." The weapon specialist tilted his head and crossed his optics. There was indeed a sticker on his nose. The canons went away, and Ironhide was attempting to remove the sticker. No luck. Scratching it wasn't working. He had no fingernails to pick at it with. And he was _not_ about to shoot himself in the face to get rid of it.

Although, it might work.

"Hey guys." Roxy was out of the shower, waring a white tshirt and black jeans "Um, what are you doing?" Ironhide had one of his canons turned on himself in a joking manner. "Anna must have stuck this on me last night." Pointing at the evil sticker with severe irritation. Roxy had either zoned out or was thinking. "Gimme a boost." the three bots looked at her.

Noting the stares she received, she pointed at the sticker. "I shall rid you of the itchyness!" she was already climbing the very grouchy weapons specialist, ignoring the cybertronian swears coming from his mouth. She had draped herself over his head and carefully peeled the sticker away. It was gone within minutes. Roxy climbed down to his shoulder, and stayed there, giving Optimus and Bee a smile.

"Hey Hide?" she asked the steaming mech. Something told her he really didn't like have a menstruating female on his head. And, honestly, what mech would?

"What Roxy?!" yep, he was not happy.

"There a place near here for target practice?" Okay, now he was happy... or disturbed, whatever fit.

It was a moment later that Roxy was holding onto Ironhide's shoulder armer for all she was worth.

Time, 11:26 A.M. End of 'Mellow' stage

"PULL!" _sling_! Another water balloon went up only to be terminated. All that rock throwing had made her arms strong. Back in Oregon, Roxy would throw anything she could find for Ironhide to shoot. Despite Oregon's infinite beauty, it could get boring. And target practice was an excellent way to break the silence. And a few tree limbs.

"PULL!" _sling_! Another victim. Roxy not only launched the balloons, but she was also the clean up crew. No one had to prompt her. Her love of all things furry was all she needed. 'The last thing I want is for some furhead to die from eating one of these.' There were no objections.

"PULL!" _WOOSH!_ That one was a pine cone. That had been her signal that they had run out of balloons. Well, Ironhide was happy, and Roxy was now racing around, gathering up the remnants of balloons. She stuffed them into her pockets, along with a rock or two, and walked back to the base, Ironhide following her.

"That was awesome! I missed target practice. Glad to see you didn't ru- AHK!" _thump_. Roxy was on her stomach, not moving.

"Roxy!" Ironhide bent down to Roxy's level. "Do you require medical assistance?"

"No." came the muffled, timid reply.

"Do you need help standing?"

"No." then, there was a minute of awkward silence.

"Should I wait over there?" He said, refering to no place in particular.

"Yes please." Roxy slowly gathered herself from the ground.

"Okay, lets go." Roxy was not happy. Ironhide had seen Roxy lose her temper before. She would get especially pissy if you blamed it on her heritage. Despite her Pure Scottish roots, she always said it was something like bad tofu.

To his knowledge, she had not eaten tofu today.

Time, 12:13 P.M. End of 'Happy' stage 

Bee was happy to see Roxy enter the hanger. Roxy was not happy with anything. She had mud on her shirt and was not a happy girl. She ignored Bee and took out her i-pod. And Bee was not one for being ignored.

Poke. Bee was on all fours, gently poking her with a finger. Roxy would not snap.

Poke. She would not snap.

Poke. _She would not snap._

Poke. She would NOT SNAP!

Poke. SCREW IT!

"Quit POKING MEEEEEEEE!!!!!" Bee stopped, and Roxy went back to listening to her music.

_PokePokePokePokePokePokePoke _okay, she was pissed. Thunk!

The twins entered at the sound of someone crashing to the floor. They found a knocked out Bee on the floor.

"BEE! YA OKAY?" Sides spoke loudly and slowly, Sunny just starring at the dent Bee had above the left optic.

Bee's bright optics flashed back to life as a loud song blasted from his speakers.

**They say 'all teenagers scare**

**the living shit out of me! **

**They could care less**

**as long as someone'll bleed!' **

**So darken your clothes **

**and strike a violent pose, **

**maybe they'll leave you alone **

**but not me.**

"Primus, what hit me?" Bee sat up, feeling at the dent. "Oh yeah, now I remember."

"What knocked you out?" Sides asked.

"A really cranky Roxy. She's got a good throwing arm."

"What made her throw a fragging rock at you?" Sunny was actually paying attention, holding up the rock no bigger than a golf ball.

"I don't know, she said something about changing a filter. (1)" Sunny and sides were off to look for Roxy and bug the hell out of her about the rock. That was there first mistake.

Time, 1:45. End of 'Sad' stage. 

"She actually threw a rock at you?" Optimus was looking at Bee in the med bay he was in just hours earlier. Ratchet had fixed the dent and was taking an assessment of the damage. Then the silence was broken.

"I'LL KICK YOUR AFTS!" Came a female voice. The three mechs left the hanger to find the twins running from a very angry Roxy. And that Roxy had a sledgehammer. They were humoring her and she knew it, (Any mech could outrun a human on foot.) And that just made her angrier.

Ironhide was standing against the hanger, watching the three run about.

"Ironhide! Why aren't you assisting the twins?"

"They don't need it. They can outrun her in a second."

Optimus had not seen Roxy since earlier that morning. And to see her chasing two of his men in such an angry way... who wouldn't be confused.

"RUN FOR THE HANGER! SHE'S GOT A HAMMER THING!" Sides liked to piss her off. It was like a game to him. Unfortunately, Roxy saw it from a very different angle.

The twins ran past Bee and back toward their shared room. Ratchet was standing by the door, Roxy charging at the entryway. Ratchet took a few steps forward and in one quick motion, he had the hammer. He looked at it with false curiosity. "Hmm, this is a dangerous tool." he looked at the fuming girl sitting by his foot.

He then took the head and the handle in opposite hands. Then with one small tug, he pulled them apart and dropped them at his sides. "And now it's not." he said. Ironhide looked disappointed. Pipsqueak versus two twenty foot mechs. That could be very interesting. But no, Ratchet was not into that kind of thing. Oh well. He went into the hanger, obviously bored.

Roxy was not happy. Okay, she was angry. No, wait a minute, beyond description angry. And everyone knew it, including Ratchet, but he really didn't care. No human female acted like this during their cycle.

_'at least he took the hammer away.' _Optimus thought. Roxy was a bit crazy at times, but this? Was this normal?

The glare Roxy had from the ground was not something to take lightly. A few seconds later, she huffed at the medic and turned her back on him. Big mistake.

"Alright, you. up. Now."

Roxy turned to the medic, anger now shock. "Excuse me?"

Ratchet gave her a steady look."I said, 'You. up. Now.' Do not make me repeat myself." he was in no mood for this. If Roxy was going to act like a youngling, then he would damn well treat her that way.

"No." A moment later something pinched her collar and she was up in the air. "What the hell?!" she was placed down on her feet and stood there, starring at Optimus, who really looked like he wanted to stay out of it. He made that known, when he looked at Ratchet in mild confusion.

"Okay, now walk."

"What? Why?"

"You need to calm down."

"I **AM** CALM!"

"No you're not. Now, for the last time, walk."

"I'm on my period!"

"So what? Your legs are fine. You can walk so you might as well." How Ratchet kept so calm was beyond Optimus.

"Ugh, fine, I'm walking. See?" Roxy was indeed walking. "There's a path in the woods, go down it until I tell you to stop. And don't think that you can just sit in one of the trees and wait for me to talk. I'm going to watch you." Ratchet was being harsh for a reason. He needed to talk to Roxy privately. He knew something that made him worry. He had to let her know what he knew.

"We'll be back in an hour." he called to Optimus. Roxy yelled another obscenity, and then disappeared into the trees.

Time, 2:32 P.M. End of 'Psycho' stage. 

Walking. All she had to do was walk. She was not happy. She didn't want to walk. Shouldn't she have a choice? No, not with Ratchet for a doctor. Whatever he said went as it was said. No exceptions. No excuses. Just walking.

And one mech staring at her the whole time. And that mech was having a mental conflict.

_'She _has_ to know. How can she not? I know she knows, but maybe telling her is a bad idea. But then again... wait, I got it.'_

He spoke in a calm way. "You know Roxy, medics from Cybertron have to take an oath quite similar to the one human doctors must take. There are a few slight differences between the two, such as a human doctor can't hit a rowdy patient with his stethoscope. I on the other hand, can strike a mech who won't sit still. What I am getting at here is, if there was something wrong with you and you didn't want the others to know about it, then I could not say anything about it."

Roxy's steps faltered for a fraction of a second. Then she spoke, her voice wavering a bit. "Well thats good to know. If I had something to hide I mean. Not that I do, but I mean that is a very good thing. If the time comes that I have som-augh!"

Thump! Once again, Roxy had fallen on her face. 'Wait for it...' Ratchet told himself.

"GODDAMMIT! WHY DO I KEEP FALLING TODAY?!" Roxy lay there, her angry words muffled by the ground. Ratchet gave her a minute, then carefully slipped two fingers under her arms and pulled her up. She looked at him, grateful, but not for picking her up. She dusted herself off, and kept walking.

_'She knows that I know. She listened to what I said, but she didn't hear me.' _he followed her. There was silence the rest of the walk. But it wasn't the awkward kind of silence. Then, a random comment.

"Did the twins know I was on my cycle?"

"I'm afraid not. Why?"

"Do you know why I was after them?"

"No."

"They asked me what was up my aft."

"..."

Time, 3:22. End of 'Nervous' stage. 

Lesson: All species have spazz attacks.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Okay, I'm gonna end it here. Oh! And if you got the 'filter' joke, good for you!

Feel free to guess what Roxy's secret is. (That doesn't mean I'll tell you!)

Thank you all for the feedback!


	6. Lesson 6: Wrinkles

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT! **SHORT CHAPTER! **_**DON'T HATE ME!**_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Rocks were thrown and people were yelled at, but after a week, Roxy came out of the angry red fog that consumed her. And none to soon. Optimus was on edge waiting for it to end, and Bee needed to be reminded several times that Roxy was not mad at him.

Now that you've been brought up to date, lets continue.

Due to the circumstances, Roxy decided it would be best to sleep in the spare room that Sarah had offered her. And, yes, Tank tried to bunk with her. And, yes, Roxy let him. Of course it would start with Tank at one end of the bed and Roxy on the other. And it would end with one on top of the other.

One morning, Roxy awoke to find Ironhide looking in at her. "GAH!"

The warrior mech looked at her with a quizzical look, then remembered how she was in the morning. Hyper.

"Hide, what's goin' on? somthin' on fire?" She slurred. She slurred when she was just waking up.

"I came to tell you that the Lennox and Witwiky families are leaving for the 'farmers market' and wanted to know if you were interested. " he looked past her to see Tank flat on his back, out cold.

"Unless you two were in the middle of something?" he mumbled. Roxy looked at Tank and then back at Ironhide. "No, What do you m-... Ew! Dirty, dirty, dirty CPU! Just for that I'm riding your head!" She lunged at him, and grabbed his head armor. He growled something she really didn't want to know.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The ride to the farmers market was slow, but it was worth it. The market was huge, dozens of vendors selling everything from incense to leather dog collars to algae based cure-alls. Antiques and hand made Amish crafts littered long cheap tables covered in cloth. The scent of home made fried foods and fresh fruit drinks wafted through the dusty air. Every creature under the sun made it's sounds and rattled it's cage to draw passers by to them. Men with straw hats and women with bonnets and white aprons rode in on horse and mule drawn wagons, ready to sell farm fresh fruits and soft cheeses.

This to some was a dirty frenzy, but to Roxy, the Lennox and the Witwiky families, it was Heaven.

(A/N: XD I'm so proud of that paragraph!)

"Okay, who's hungry?" Sam asked as they walked by a hot dog vendor. They had been walking for about an hour. So, if no one was hungry, they at least needed a break.

"I'll be right back." Roxy said to no one in particular. She was back a minute later with an orange and an apple. She dropped the orange in her pocket and started eating the small, yellow, apple.

"Roxy, why don't you eat meat?" Anna asked from below. Roxy gave a small smile. An innocent question that deserved an innocent answer.

"It gives me a stomach ache. A really bad stomach ache." she said. Anna seemed satisfied and went back over to Will. Will smiled at Roxy and Roxy nodded. The truth was that Roxy knew what happened to the cow or chicken before it made it to the dinner table. And if she were to tell Anna what happened to her hot dog before it was a hot dog, she would of screamed and run in terror. Then Will would be mad and Ironhide would be mad and she'd have to walk home.

She liked walking, but not when she didn't know where she was going.

(Later)

Animals were kept toward the back of the grounds. But it was not to be missed. Anna made sure of that. It held mostly birds and small live stalk. Roxy was cooing at a very happy dove, when Anna squeeled and grabbed her shirt. "ROXY YOU GOTTA LOOK! ITS SO CUTE AND IT LOOKED AT ME!" Roxy followed Anna over to a cage with three furry lumps sitting in it.

"Aw, bunnies." Mikela said from behind Sam, who was looking at a sleeping puppy. They were indeed bunnies. In the back was a small white one that looked scared out of it's mind. In the middle was a black one who would get up, look around, body slam the cage and roll onto it's back. Then a few seconds later, it would do it again. Then in front there was a fat gray one that sat still, asleep. But the thing about the gray one was it's face. It had wrinkles, and lots of them. They gave him a grumpy look. If you can see a grumpy bunny, you'd know why it's so cute.

Sam stuck a finger into the cage and poked the white bunny. It jumped, causing the black bunny to jump, then do the whole body-slammy-thingy for the ninth time that minute. The wrinkled bunny sat still, its small nose barley moving. Anna looked at her daddy, and whimpered.

"Daddy? Can I pleeeaaassse have the bunny?" Will looked at his daughter. Even a soldier like him was no match for the puppy eyes of doom! He looked at Sarah, who gave an approving smile. "Which one?"

"Mister Wrinkles!" she said pointing at the gray one. Roxy bent down to look at the sleeping bunny and said in a soft voice,

"Hey there Mista Wrinkals! Wanna come home with us?" The bunny – Mister Wrinkles- cracked open an amber eye, shut it, and fell back asleep. "I think that means yes."

(That evening)

The ride home was filled with giggles caused by the furry gray bunny in a cardboard box. The sun was setting as Will carried the box inside, followed by Anna and Sarah. Sam went inside with Mikela behind him. "You coming Roxy?" Mikela asked.

"I'll be in later."she said. Mikela went inside and Roxy starred at the sky. It was fading into a deep purple.

"Is something wrong?" A voice asked from below. It was a familiar yellow camero. Roxy smiled at Bee, watching him unfold.

"Yeah, just thinking." Bee was looking at her at her spot on the deck. She blinked at him, then looked down.

"Hey Ironhide?"she asked the unfolding mech.

"What?" He grumbled.

"I need you to take me to Ratchet."

"Why?" This girl had a thing for suspense. She looked up at him and spoke in an even voice.

"I want to see Jazz."

Lesson: Wrinkles are beautiful.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

This is gonna be good! Do Amish people live in California? Don't know, Don't care! Where I live, they do, and I like the farmers market! I've had caffeine! WOOT! R&R


	7. Lesson 7: Music

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ratchet held Roxy up to Optimus' face. "Are you sure you want to do this Roxy? No one will think any less of you if you don't want to." he said in a gentle way. Despite her outward attitude, Roxy was sensitive to this kind of thing. He didn't want her to go into something that leave her a wreck when she came back out. But if she wanted to see Jazz, then he would let her.

"I can handle it. Really, how bad could it be?" she asked Ratchet. She didn't see Ironhide and Optimus exchange glances.

"Alright, lets go." Ratchet knew Roxy inside and out – he had done enough scans with her tree accidents - and gave her the same warning he gave the others when they first saw Jazz after he did his repairs.

"Brace yourself." He opened the door. The only door in the hanger. Hundreds of cables, wires and tubes hooked into dizzying beeping machines. Flashing lights and pumps monitored and filtered in a sickening, mindless rhythm. Somehow, through the cables an tubing, Roxy found the familiar spiked head and dark visor.

Beep... beep... beep... beep... beep...

"...Jazz..." was all she could whisper. Ratchet looked down at her.

"Do you want to go back?" he asked. Her answer caught him off guard.

"No, how close can you get me?" He was by Jazz and set her down by the unconscious mech. She easily sidestepped the wires and made it to his head. She was at his audio receptors and grabbed one of his head spikes. Ratchet was checking the monitors when it happened. Roxy leaned down and said out loud,

"Jazz?" BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP-

"Dear primus! What did you say?" Ratchet Yelled. But it wasn't an angry yell. The data pad he was holding was being pounded with new information.

"Whatidido? Whatidido?" Oh great, Roxy was spazzing out.

"Don't panic, you did something great! His cerebral activity increased by ten percent! His spark rating is faster than it has been in months." He turned to her, and he was giving her that rare smile she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Your like a boost to his entire system. Say something else."

Roxy looked at him, then back at Jazz. She said a few other things, but they held no improvement. Ratchet went back to his natural frown and Roxy stared at the floor. Then a light came on in her head.

"Ratchet, I just thought of something. Could you get my duffel bag?"

"Why?"

"Please, just do this. I think it will help." He left and returned with the bag. She shuffled through it and pulled out what looked like speakers. She then pulled out her iPod and plugged everything in.

"Just what are you doing?"

"When I first met you guys, I asked Jazz what his favorite earth song was. I would have asked the rest of you, but it felt kinda weird. He and Bee were music lovers like me, so I asked them and saved them to my computer. Then I got the iPod, and downloaded them onto it."

"So what your saying is..."

"Exactly! If my voice did that, what can this do?"

"Hmm, alright. Give it a try." 

"Just do me a favor, okay? If this somehow wakes him up, protect me!"

"Why?"

"Because I promised I wouldn't let anyone know. And now that I'm playing it, he may just squish me. At least, thats what he said he would do."

Ratchet stared at her. She was searching for the song. "Okay, I found it." Ratchet was expecting to here some hard core, sick minded womanizing gangster rap, but he got something completely different as horns drifted through the air.

_**i see trees of green, red roses too  
i see them bloom for me and you  
and i think to myself, what a wonderful world  
**_

"This is his..." Ratchet murmured. Roxy climbed down to stand by Ratchets foot.

_i__** see skies of blue, clouds of white  
the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night  
and i think to myself, what a wonderful world**_

"...I see why he would squish you." Roxy climbed his leg carefully.

"Shut up." she muttered. He grabbed her and looked at the monitor.

_**the colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky  
are also on the faces of people passin'by  
i see friends shakin' hands, sayin'"how do you do?"  
they're really saying "I Love You"**_**  
**  
_**i hear babies cryin', I watch them grow  
they'll learn much more than i'll ever know  
and i think to myself,(think to myself) what a wonderful world**_**  
**

There was no change.

_**the colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky  
are also on the faces of people passin' by  
i see friends shakin' hands sayin' "how do you do?"  
they're really saying "I Love You"**__  
_

Roxy sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot. How about we give it until tomorrow?"

_  
**i hear babies crying I watch them grow  
they'll learn much more than i'll ever know  
and i think to myself, (think to myself) what a wonderful world**  
_

He walked out of the room without a word. She would come back in the next day and put her stuff back. It was worth a try, right?

_  
**such a wonderful world...**_

Optimus was waiting outside for Roxy. Ratchet went right into telling Optimus that Jazz had improved. Roxy climbed into Optimus' waiting hand. Ratchet handed Optimus the data pad and the autobot walked off.

"Are you alright Roxy?" the girl jumped at his words. She turned to him, a smile appearing a bit too quickly for his liking.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He kept staring. She let out a long breath. "Okay, I'm not fine. I was scared, okay?" she looked at the floor for the second time that night. There was that low pulsing hum she had heard a few nights ago. It was also much warmer. She looked up to see two calm cobalt optics starring at her.

She also felt his thumb pressing her back. She leaned back into it. "Being afraid is not something you need to hide from me." He moved his thumb in an up and down motion. "If something worries you, or if you need to tell me something, I'll listen to you." he lifted her to his face. "I want you to be happy here."

_'If you knew the truth you wouldn't be saying that.' _ She brushed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Thanks. I think I'll stay at the house tonight, Okay?" He looked a bit disappointed at that, but he agreed. He walked out of the hanger and brought her to the house. Mikela was sittingon the deck with a smile on her face, one arm draped over her protruding belly.

"Glad to see your back. How did it go?" Optimus was smiling at them both.

"Jazz has made improvement thanks to Roxy." Roxy blushed and hunched over. Optimus chuckled at her embarrassment and set her on the deck.. "Sleep well Roxy." He headed back to the hanger. Mikela waited for Optimus to go out of sight before saying it.

"You know, I think he likes you."

Roxy froze. _'Oh, god dammit!' _"I know he likes me. He's my friend."

"Roxy, that's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant, and yes, we're friends. **Just** friends."

"Why don't you think it would work?"

"Mikela, think about it. Thirty foot mech who is probably older than man kind dating a 5'5 teenage girl. It'd be like an eighty year old dating a fetus!"

"Age doesn't matter to him, and he's gentle with you. Why should it matter?"

"He can't hug me or kiss me, he'd outlive me by a helluva lot, I couldn't handle him rejecting me, the list goes on and on!"

Silence. Then she felt arms wrap around her. "If you really love him, it won't matter at all. Give it time."

The two went inside, one knowing a bit more about the other.

Xxxxxxxx In the hanger... xxxxxxxX

_i__** see skies of blue, clouds of white**_

The lone mech in the only room with a door was motionless.._**  
**_

_**the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night**_

And then... BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-

_**  
and i think to myself- **_

"...what a wonderful world..." Jazz smiled at his own voice. It had been a while since he heard it. He turned his head and looked at the iPod. Then he carefully removed the wires and cable that had bound him for so long. He creaked as he moved, but that was fine. He remembered hearing... someone... say his name. That must of jogged him enough to hear the music.

Now he was alive again. And he was glad that he could eat without a tube from now on.

"It is a _wonderful_ world."

Lesson: Music can do amazing things.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Hey all! I don't know what hit me, but I am on a writing spree! R&R!


	8. Lesson 8: Hug

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT!

(a/n: look for hints on Roxy's secret!)

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ironhide was always the first one awake. It was a habit he had developed back on cybertron. During the war, you would sometimes have to sleep in shifts. So finding him up and around at five in the morning was normal. It was also normal for him to get his energon and head back to clean his cannons. And even on a few occasions, he might find a fellow bot up and about at that time. What was not normal was for him to yell and train one of his cannons on the mech that was up at that hour.

But then again, how often was that mech one that had been in a coma for five years?

"Mornin' Hide." Jazz said without looking up. Ironhide just stared. Was it really happening?

"Yo, earth ta Ironhide! Ya in there big guy?" Jazz made his point clear by waving his arms over his head.

"HOW ARE YOU AWAKE?!" The yell was loud enough to wake the hanger. The footsteps that followed were stopped short when Optimus stopped, causing Bumblebee to crash into him. Now they were all staring at Jazz. And Jazz stared back through the visor.

"Aw, man, I'm not that cool. Am I?" He said. Jazz was then tackled by Bee. "Yeah, I'm that cool. Hey Bee, how ya been?"

"Your alive!" was all Bee could say. Jazz looked up to see the twins grinning at him.

"Oh no, when'd you get here?" It was meant as a joke, and was taken that way.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Ratchet yelled out, pushing the others aside. Jazz may be standing in front of them, but if he removed those wires himself, he may have caused some unintentional damage. A quick scan proved that there was none.

"Hey Ratchet, just whose Ipod is this?" Jazz said, holding the device up so the medic could get a better look.

"That belongs to Roxy." Optimus had apparently come out of his stunned position.

"Alright. So, if this is Lil' Red's then that means she's here?" Jazz was, at times, the master of the obvious. Lil' Red was a nickname Jazz gave Roxy back in Oregon.

"That's right. And judging by the time, she's still sleeping up at the house." Optimus clarified.

_'Oh no.'_ Ratchet remembered what Roxy had said last night.

"Jazz, don't do anyth-" BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! Jazz transformed after playing an air horn sound bite. Then a song came over his speakers.

_**didn't hear what you were saying.**_

"Jazz? What are you planing?"

_**  
I live on raw emotion baby  
**_

"Jazz..." Ratchet stated in a threatening manner.

_**I answer questions never maybe  
**_

Jazz peeled out of the hanger, the song blaring.

_**And I'm not kind if you betray me.**_

"JAZZ!" To late.

_**  
**_He closed the gap between the house and the hanger quickly and shut off the volume. If he was going to do this right, he had to find her room.

First window: Sam and a pregnant Mikela.

Second window: Annabelle.

third window: BINGO! Red hair and a ... Saint Bernard? Oh well, Roxy brought this upon them both.  
_**  
And it's not my fault  
Coz you both deserve  
What's coming now  
So don't say a word  
**_

He cranked up the volume and stood back.

_**  
WAKE UP CALL  
CAUGHT YOU IN THE MORNING WITH ANOTHER ONE IN MY BED  
DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT ME ANYMORE?  
SHE CARE ABOUT ME? I DON'T THINK SO!  
SIX FOOT TALL...  
CAME WITHOUT A WARNING SO I HAD TO SHOOT HIM DEAD!  
HE WON'T COME AROUND HERE ANYMORE.  
COME AROUND HERE? I DON'T THINK SO!**_

He watched Roxy and the dog launch themselves from the bed. Roxy was searching for the noisy offender. All those years climbing trees made her acceptable in jumping from third story windows. She ignored Tank barking at her and followed the huge blur that had woken her up. The music was still playing, so at least she could follow that.__

Would have bled to make you happy  


"Come on, you fragger, don't run from me!" Jazz was keeping low and going around the house. Roxy could try as hard as she could, but she would never catch him.

_**You didn't need to treat me that way  
**_

Unless he wanted her to.

_**And now you beat me at my own game  
**_

"Oh, what? Scared of a human female?" She was getting angry. Just what he wanted.

_**And now I find you sleeping soundly  
**_

Jazz had known Roxy as long as the other bots, but they had a brother-sister kind of thing between them. It had gotten to a point where he could read her like a book. And if he guessed right, she was about to explode.

_**And your lover's screaming loudly  
**_

"**COMEOUT YOU HAPPY BASTARD!" **Yeah, he guessed right. He shut off the volume and hid under the deck.

_**I hear a sound and hit the ground  
**_

He watched Roxy from his place and waited. She was looking back from where she came. She had her back to him, and he turned the volume on a low setting so she wouldn't hear it until he had her. With a quick, practiced snap of his arm, he had her foot.

"THE HELL?! PUT ME DOWN YOU-" he turned her in the air to face him. "Jazz?" the music continued.  
_**  
I'm so sorry darling  
Did I do the wrong thing?  
Oh, what was I thinking?  
Is his heart still beating?  
**_

She looked in her window to see Tank zoned out on his back. She grabbed one of his fingers and pulled herself up to look at him. "Hey lil' Red. Ya not so little now, eh? " She was still shocked from her awakening.

"What the hell was that?"__

Wake up call  
Caught you in the morning with another one in my bed  
Don't you care about me anymore?  
She care about me? I don't think so!  
Six foot tall-  


"I get it." she said with a kick. She was shaking, a smile across her face. She learned a long time ago that lunging at Jazz could result in being impaled on one of his sharp spikes. So she instead would sit between them. She was too big for that now, so she instead stood behind his head. And held on for dear life. She just about died when his speakers poured out a new song. And it was _her_ favorite song.

_**In the day we sweat it out on the streets  
Of a runaway American dream  
**_

Jazz took off toward the hanger.

_**At night we ride through mansions of glory  
In suicide machines  
Sprung from cages on Highway 9  
Chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected  
And steppin' out over the line  
Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back  
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap  
We gotta get out while we're young  
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run!**_

Optimus was standing outside the hanger waiting for them. "Welcome back." Roxy climbed down and ran to Optimus. She was hugging his leg. He was a bit shocked at first, but then he picked her up. He gently pressed her to his chest plate. "It worked! It really worked." She whispered to his audio receptor. He smiled and looked at Jazz.

_'Aw, she's gettin' a hug from dah big guy.' _Jazz could read anyone. And he knew that if it were possible, Prime would have been blushing.

"Why don't you two go out for a bit. Fill him in on the situation. " Optimus didn't want her to actually leave. It was his 'thing', as humans called it, to send someone to wake her up. The attempt at a hug just made him happy. A faint resemblance of the happy he felt when his deceased sparkmate would hug him.

"See you later, okay? We have got to get Jazz a new form."

"Whats so bad 'bout this one?"

"It's 2012 going on 2013!" With that, the two took off. And that left the autobot leader alone for a moment. Roxy was not Elita. She was nothing like Elita. No one could replace her and he knew it.

So why was it he felt the same feeling when Roxy hugged him when Elita would hug him?

X Thirty minutes later...X

"Why not a Prius?"

"No."

"Okay, a Beetle?"

"Aw hell no."

"Picky, aren't we? I know! A BMW."

"...Why?"

"They're a classic, they come in two-door and four-door, and they sound _awesome_ when they zoom by."

"Two door or four door?"

"I'd go with two."

"Alright! I have a new mode. You'll hafta get out. Don't wantcha merging with the seats."

"Got it." Roxy hopped out and watched the car zip out of sight. She leaned against a tree. After a few minutes, a charcoal BMW hurtled down the road and came to a dead stop in front of her. Only an autobot could pull that off.

The driver side window rolled down reveal a young black man. Dressed with a cheap gold chain around his neck and well made cornrows hidden by a white bandanna that adorned his head. He looked to be in his lower twenties and had the autobot insignia on his right hand. The one thing that made him stand out were the blue sunglasses that hid what she guessed were blue glowing eyes. Baggy black pants and a plain white t-shirt completed the ensemble.

"Nice." Roxy muttered. Did they all have holoforms or something? The passenger door opened and Roxy stepped in. The instant she sat down Jazz took off. She watched the speedometer go from 0 to 90 in three seconds flat then go down to 0 again. She looked over at the holo who smiled at her.

"You were right Red, it makes a great sound." He then drove at a slower pace when they passed a grocery store.

"can we stop here? I need to call my mom."

"dontcha have a cell?" he asked.

"no, she could trace it either way."she paused. "i dont want to go back there."

Jazz looked at Roxy with that calming gaze that he had used on her years ago when she would panic for some thing or another. It always calmed her down. She stepped out and walked into the store and came out with a bag and some change. She went to a pay phone and dialed. Something was off and Jazz knew it. He tuned into the call. He was not one for eavesdropping, but still.

"Hey." it was cold.

"_Who is thiz?"_ Susan was drunk.

"It's Roxy."

"_Roxy? Where you geta phone?"_

"What do you mean?"

"_I dunno, wha?"_

"Woman, did you even know I was gone?"

"_Yeahidid. I did who says I didn?"_

"How long have I been gone?"

_"wha?"_

"Dammit woman. How long. Have I. Been gone?" Roxy had no patience for her drunk mother.

"_Gah hun is been lika month."_

"It's been two and a half weeks." Her words were acid.

"_Shudup ihas not. You godda come home, I wanna help ya."_

"Why so you can lock me in a closet and feed me once a month?! Your the one who needs help you drunk!"

"_SHUDUP YAH STUBID BI-" _click. She grabbed the bag and went back to Jazz.

"So, how'd it go?" Roxy's gaze was angry, but she kept calm.

"Jazz, you heard the whole thing didn't you? "

Silence.

"I'm not mad. You have a right to know."

"What happened to Zeke?"

"He died. Advanced prostate cancer."

"And ya mom?"

"Alcoholic. Locked me in a room for 4 years so I couldn't get her help."

"And Kale?"

She paused and stared out the window. "Kale's just a sick bastard." (a/n: **HINT!**)

That ended it. "Wanna head back?"

"Yeah."

"So Red, what's in da bag?"

She smiled and pulled out a red sucker. "Wait'll Bee sees this."

"Oh no, try not ta get too hyper."

"HeHEHE!"

"..." Then he hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot, part of her song blaring through the open windows.

_**One, two, three, four  
Highway's jammed with broken heroes  
On a last-chance power drive  
Everybody's out on the road tonight but  
There's no place left to hide  
Together Wendy we can live with the sadness  
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul  
Oh, someday girl I don't know when  
We're gonna get to that place where really wanna go  
And we'll walk in the sun  
But till then tramps like us, baby we were born to run  
Tramps like us, baby we were born to run  
Come on Wendy, tramps like us  
Baby we were born to run!**_

-At the hanger...-

Jazz rolled onto the back lot around sunset. Bumble Bee hadn't seen Roxy all day, and knew that she was probably with Jazz. He stopped dead when he saw a white stick poking from her mouth. Back in Oregon he had a nasty run in with a hyper Roxy. And candy can make anyone hyper.

"What is that?"

"Sucker"

"Uh, what color is it?"

"It's red!" she showed it to him. Bee freaked out.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ironhide looked over at Bee.

"What are you screaming about?"

"It's a red one!!!" Bee yelled. Ironhide looked at it, then at Bee.

"I don't see your point."

"THE RED ONES MAKE HER EXTREMLY HYPER!"

"I got five more in mah pocket!"Roxy grinned freakishly.

"Nooooooo!!!" Bee ran for the hanger just as Optimus stepped out.

"What did you say to-" He saw the candy. "Oh primus, not again."

"Calm down, I just took one. The rest are for Anna and anyone else interested." Jazz shifted and stood up. He picked her up in his claw-ish hand and carried her off. "See ya guys! Gotta drop this off!" The two mechs watched her and Jazz head to the house. Then, Ironhide spoke their native tongue.

"_**She loves you, you know that, right?"**_

That got his commanders attention. _**"What makes you so sure?"**_

"_**That hug earlier."**_

"_**Ironhide, don't read into that. She was just happy that Jazz was alive."**_

"_**Yes, but she hugged you. Not a human, not me, not Bee. She chose you.**_"

He gave a halfhearted glare._** "I was nearest to her."**_

The trigger happy mech snorted. _**"Right, and I'm a pacifist."**_

He left Optimus to stare at the sky.

House.

Roxy handed the bag to Will so that Anna wouldn't be up all night. She looked at the fat little dog waddle by her, and went over to Mikela.

"So, what happened?"

"I learned something new."

"Oh yeah? What?"

Roxy blushed. "Optimus Prime is the master of the hug."

"See? Told you it was good to wait."

Roxy was already turned to the deck. She waved and climbed on Jazz' shoulder. He glanced at her through the visor as he walked to the hanger, something nagging at his cerebral processor.

_'Say what you want Roxy, I'll give you time. But I know that more happened out there then what you say.' _That was the problem with Jazz. He could read anyone, and he learned to read between the lines.

Lesson: Bots _can_ hug back.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

People are reading **and** favoring and **even alerting** but I don't get many reviews anymore. I love the fact that people are so interested, but I like to know what you like and don't like about it. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS! **A decepticon will be in the next chapter...** if I get some reviews, that is. ; )


	9. Lesson 9: Feeling

This is the sequel to 'Nothing left to lose.' If you you have not read NLTL, I suggest you do, otherwise you will have no freaking idea what this is about. And if that happens, well, I guess you're screwed.

Disclaimer: I only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Zeke and Susan. Anyone who says otherwise will be chased by hungry plot bunnies.

ON WITH IT! 

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

It had been a week since Jazz had ' risen from the grave ' and things were settling down. Ratchet had been checking the medical supplies when it happened.

"No na DAH!" _thump_. He looked up from his work. That sounded like Roxy. The inventory could wait. He checked the hanger rooms. Not in Ironhide's room, not in Prime's to his amazement, not with Bee or Jazz, he didn't see the twins and the sound was too close for her to be at the house. "GYAHHH!" It came from the front half of the hanger. He froze.

Roxy was running around, swatting at a balloon. She would hit it, chase it, then hit it again. This would have fine with Ratchet, accept for the fact that when she hit it too hard, it had her chasing it into a wall.

"Trying to butcher whats left of your dignity?" He stated sarcastically. Roxy kept running and hitting.

"Roxy, you know what happens if you ignore me." she hit the balloon and fell flat. She heard a popping noise, and saw the remnants of a balloon on the floor. 

"Why? " she asked dramatically. He looked down at her. 

"Why were you chasing that balloon?"

Roxy looked up at him and whined. "I'm BOOOOORRRRRREEEEEEEEEED! You know why?"

Ratchet blinked. 

"Optimus is up to his neck in data pads! Jazz and Bee are practically joined at the hip! The twins are trying to prank Ironhide and I can't even _find_ the guy!" She crossed her arms. "And don't even think of teaching me more about Cybertronian anatomy again. My head was going to explode!"

"Your cranial apparatus was no where close to-"

"You know what I mean!" Oh, great, the medic was scowling. He had something to say.

"Roxy, I have to talk to you." Roxy looked at the medic. She looked past him, out the hanger door, and he turned around to see two Lamborghini's run in. Roxy tried to keep a straight face as she pointed to her left. 

"QUICK RUN THAT WAY!" They did. A moment later, Ironhide ran in, cannon's drawn, and faceplate covered in orange paint. Roxy pointed to her right. "THEY WENT THAT WAY!" Ironhide ran to the right, and the two were now standing alone in the hanger. "Now, what did you need to tell me?"

_It can wait. "_I have something you can do." He said. He picked her up and carried her to the med bay. When he got there, he started sorting through a pile of supplies. He pulled out what looked like a walkie talkie, but it was obviously not of earth. It was egg shaped, metal, and had a nob on the side. It had a small screen, and what looked like a speaker the size of a dime. "The property expands a few hundred acres out. If you felt like looking at things, take this with you."

He handed it to her. "Turn the nob and you will get a frequency for each autobot in the hanger. Test it out."

She looked at him, and turned the nob. It clicked, and a strange symbol appeared on the screen. She held it up and spoke.

"Hello?"

/Whose this/

"You tell me." she knew it was Jazz. 

/Red? How did you get in my head/

"Ratchet gave me this thingy that let's me talk to you guys wherever I go."

/Oh, great, now I'll never get you ta shut it./

"Aw, don't be mean." She was smiling. She turned the nob to another frequency.

"Hello?"

[Roxy?

"Hi Bee!"

[Roxy? Where are you?

"Med bay. Why, where are you?"

[Back of the hanger. Did Ratchet give you the .:..:'"'..?

"Bee, please, I can't translate that."

[Neither can I. We don't have a human word for that device.

"Okay, let's just call it a beacon. "

[But it's not a beacon. It's a .:..:-

Roxy turned the nob again.

"Hello?"

Optimus Prime speaking.

"Hey big guy!"

...Roxy?

"Ner! I ish shuper pantsh ultra light! I ish gerna shteal yer fashe!"

...Did skip breakfast this morning Roxy?

"FYAH! I vant yer fashe!"

You should have eaten breakfast. Optimus out. KSHSH!

Roxy looked at the beacon. Then at Ratchet. And then the beacon again. "That fart hung up on me!"

"Yes. We can do that. You can hang up on us too, just switch to another frequency."

Again, Roxy turned the nob.

"Hello?"

**\\ WHAT! \\ **

KSHSH! Roxy hung up on Ironhide. Then she went back to his frequency.

"Hide, go left. I sent them that way." KSHSH!

She turned the nob again.

"Hello?"

;; What? ;;

"Sunny! Quick! Go right! He's gonna getcha!" KSHSH! She looked up at Ratchet, smiling. "Wait for it..."

FWOOPFWOOPFWOOP! A canon fired in the front of the hanger. The looked at each other.

The nob turned again. "Hello?" KSHSH!

"Good, now that you know my frequency, you can go." Ratchet spoke through the beacon. Roxy then left the med bay. As he watched her walk out, he thought about what he really wanted to tell her. 

_I know that it can wait, but just for how long? _He brushed it off and grabbed a sodering iron. Judging by the sounds he had heard, the twins were in need of some repair. 

X Backwoods X

When Roxy would check out the woods behind her house back in Oregon, she would take two things with her; water and ribbon. The reason for the ribbon was that every hundred steps, she would stop and tie some ribbon to a tree limb so she could find her way back. She chose bright blue this time.

"...ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred. Okay, one more time." she tied off a piece and pulled the beacon from her pocket.

"This is Roxy. Over."

[This is Bee. Over.

"I am twelve marks in. Time check please. Over."

[Time check 16: 26. Over.

"Thank you Bee. End transmission."

[Your welcome. End transmission. KSHSH!

She looked down at her feet. Her shoe was untied. She bent down and tied it, and was about to stand when...

She froze. She knew that sound. She felt the eyes piercing the back of her head. The low growl and pant. Everything she knew about nature gathered in her head and eliminated itself in a split second, leaving only one conclusion.

Puma.

She new she was in trouble. She couldn't make herself bigger, she had no jacket. It knew she was panicking, so standing up to it would be playing chicken with a train. She could radio for help, but no one could get there in time. She had no options left, so she went with what all naturalists and books had said to never do.

She ran.

Feet thundered after her. She had about a twenty second advantage over it, but the gap was closing. She was a fast runner, but she couldn't in her wildest dreams outrun a wild puma. But she was damn sure going to try. She zigzagged, she jumped logs, painfully crashed through thorn bushes, and it was still going at her. The thorn bushes slowed it down for a second, but she was still in danger. She could feel the air rush past her leg as it lashed a paw at her. It was trying to knock her off balance. Then she heard the woosh of the body through the air. She hit her knees and guarded her neck. She was waiting for the crushing weight and sharp teeth the shred her apart.

Nothing.

She looked around. No puma. She searched her surroundings. Tree, tree, tree, tree, metal thing, -

Wait, metal thing? This metal thing was staring at her. She guessed the green lights staring at her were optics. 1

But what bot or con had green eyes? 

She got closer, feeling the optics burn into her. She paused, and looked at a log. But what got her to look at the log was what had spilled on it.

Blood. Fresh blood. And beyond that... the puma. She cringed and continued to the bot or con that was still staring at her.

The sun was behind her, so she couldn't see him that well. But she got enough light to know that his left arm and leg were just about FUBAR, so she was at least safe if he went for her. She locked eyes with him

"What is your name?" he stared at her. 

"What. Is. Your. Name?" still no answer. _I'm looking right at him! Is he deaf or something?_ SWOOSH! He had her in his good hand. He gave her a light squeeze. 

"What business is it of yours, fleshy?" She looked darkly, then pulled a wire. Barricade's hand went limp, and Roxy landed on her butt.

"What did you just do?" he tried not to sound panicked. Whatever she had done, it made his hand stopped functioning.

"I disconnected your central control system that makes your hand function." She looked at the rest of him, and walked over to his left leg, and pulled out the delicate red wire hidden under several heavy cables at his knee. He grunted. 

"Now what did you do fleshy?" What ever she did, the pain had ceased from the knee down. Roxy narrowed her eyes, and jammed it back in. "GRR! You stupid glitch!" She twisted it. It took all he had not to scream.

"First off, my name is Roxy. Not fleshy or glitch or humanoid. Just Roxy. Second, if you answer my questions to my satisfaction, I'll unplug your pain receptors. If not, I'll twist them. Got it?" he nodded.

"Good! Now, what's your name?"

"Barricade." he growled. She unplugged the foot wire. No pain.

"What side are you on?"

"Ex decepticon. Now neutral." knee wire.

"Reason?"

"The leader of the decepticons is highly unstable. Starscream is a pathetic leader." Thigh wire.

"Starscream? That psychopath? Did he do this?" no answer. Twist at the wrist wire. 

"RRR... yes, that glitch did this." then he looked down at her. "How do you know Starscream?"

"I know _of_ him. Never met him, thank god. I'm an autobot ally." He pulled back.

"What!" _Why is she helping me then?_

"Yes, how else would I know what to pull and what not to? That was rhetorical by the way, so don't freak out. I'm not an autobot technically, just an ally. Must have a height requirement or something."

She pulled his wrist wire. Then climbed up and pulled his elbow wire. Then the shoulder.

The strange brass colored teeth outside his mouth turned to resemble a smirk. "I only gave one answer." she looked at him from the now painless shoulder. 

"Yes, but I asked three questions that all had the same answer. You want me to ask more?"

"Yes." he was lonely out there. He was damaged a few miles from his current and had to drag himself around. He was still stuck in this huge green woodland, and trees couldn't hold a conversation.

"Why did he hurt you?" oh, great. She was getting personal.

"I disagreed on what direction to go." she looked mad.

"I heard things from the bots, but I never thought he was _that_ crazy." she carefully climbed down. "If you want to ask me a few questions, feel free."

"Fine. Why did you help me?" It was strange talking to this 'weak, inferior, worthless, etc.' being, but he was a curious mech. 

"Because you helped me. Thanks, by the way." He rolled his optics at her. He had saved decepticons from autobots and had never received a thank you. He was a tracker (2) and had brought many targets to their knees. He never got a thank you. He had put his life on the line for a cause that he no longer fought for, and this human was thanking him for killing a '_Felis concolor' _! Humans were a strange race.

"What do you want me to do?" she suddenly asked. 

_What?_ "What?"

"What do you want me to do?" she repeated. "I know enough about your internal systems to say you won't last another week without proper medical attention. If I could help you out, I would. But your blood - err, energon, - will burn off my fingers. I like you, but I need my fingers. So, what do you want me to do?"

He stared at her. "Why are you so concerned?"

"Give me a reason to not care and I will. I don't have one, so..." He kept staring. Stupid, caring fleshies. "Well, I do have one issue. I know what an experienced decepticon hacker can do, but you do not look like a hacker to me. However, you will be seen as a threat by the autobots, so they're gonna need some convincing. "

"You have my word that I will not return to the decepticons." She smiled and pulled out the beacon. Her face went blank, and she turned the nob. She held it to her mouth and said in a clear voice, 

"Ratchet, we have an injured Neutral, I repeat, we have an injured Neutral." 

'What! Give me a name!'

"Barricade."

'He's a decepticon! Get away from him!'

"His eyes are green. You taught me that only a heavily experienced hacker could change optic color without true intention behind it."

'He has a partner named Frenzy, And he's one of those hackers!'

"Frenzy is dead." Barricade snarled. The medic was silent for a moment.

'I'll be right out. Location?'

"Twelve marks in. Blue at One hundred. I'll be waiting. Bring everyone that's intact. Be ready for a transfer, it's pretty bad. Roxy out." KSHSH!

Barricade stared again. "Intact?"

She frowned. "Ironhide got pranked by the twins today, so their afts might be sore. You know the twins?"

"Unfortunately."

"Yeah, they're okay. Now, I have to warn you, if you act like an SOB, they're going to say no. So for your sake, use short answers. Ironhide will need the most convincing, so leave him to me. Optimus trusts my judgment, but I need to tell them what I know. He makes the final decision, not me."

"Optimus? As in Optimus Prime?"

"Yes. Who else?" Barricade looked edgy. Roxy spoke again, trying to sound assuring. Which, of course, was something Optimus could do naturally. Roxy was a bit blunt at times and had no tolerance for roundabout conversations. She walked closer to Barricade's good leg and forced eye contact.

"Listen to me. If you were still a con, you would have killed me. That should be enough for them." Once more, Barricade was staring at this human. She smiled again and sat down a few feet away. He watched as she pulled things out of her arms and legs. 

"What are you doing?" Roxy looked up. 

"Thorns. I thought running through a thorn bush would slow that puma down. Not a smart idea." She pulled a thorn out of her shin and tossed it to one side. Small flecks of blood appeared on her skin when the thorns were gone. 

_She took care of my injury's before her own?_ He felt an odd twinge in his spark, but it died down faster than it arrived. _Foolish human. _For a foolish human, she seemed to know what was more important. 

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

When Optimus heard the news of a neutral, he was a bit thrown off. Neutrals were the first ones to be destroyed in the war. But when Ratchet told him who the neutral was, he nearly crashed through the hanger wall. Then when he found out that Roxy was with the neutral, he and the other bots left the hanger, the later group racing to keep up with they're slightly- overprotective leader.

Neutral or not, Barricade was a very dangerous mech. "What did she say?" 

"Twelve marks in, blue at one hundred. Frenzy is dead. Bring everyone. Prepare for transfer." The medic explained.

"All right, ROLL OUT!" The bots tore out for the woods. They swerved past trees and ducked branches, all watching for the blue ribbons. They followed them until the came upon Roxy, waving her arms above her head. Optimus stopped in front of her and glared at the blood. She looked at her arms, and back at him.

"I know what your thinking, but you have to see it to believe it. Follow me" She bolted over a few logs and dodged the evil thorn bush and stopped again. "Go slow. No weapons." she walked past a bush and stood still. Optimus followed. What he saw was distressing to say the least. The left arm was massacred, wires torn out and vital cables snapped. And as he expected, green eyes. The two stared at each other, then the other autobots came. 

"Hold your fire." They did as asked. Only Ironhide kept a cannon out.

"Hide, he's not a threat." Roxy said. She was ready for this. "If you don't believe me, look at the puma that tried eat me." she pointed to the log. Bumblebee walked over to see what it was that would spare Barricade Ironhide's wrath.

"OH PRIMUS! Did Barricade do that?" He turned to Roxy, who nodded. 

"I still don't trust him." He growled. Roxy had to talk Ironhide out of things before, so she had to screw the pussy-footing and get right to yelling at him to make a point.

"OKAY! So, you are telling me that even though his optics are GREEN, he did NOT attack me when I helped him, he has sworn TO ME that he would NOT return to the decepticons or their insane leader that did THIS to him, and saved my sorry butt from a damn PUMA, You can look me IN THE FACE and honestly tell me, that you think that he is STILL in league with the DECEPTICONS?" (a/n: I know it's a run on sentence. I wanted it that way. --' )

"...Yes."

Roxy groaned and sat down. She pointed at Optimus. "I give, your turn."

Optimus thought for a moment about what he already knew. "Jazz, assessment." The second in command stepped forward. 

"Well sir, we _do_ owe him for the puma. And Frenzy is dead, so he can't be lying. He has information on the decepticons, so this is a win-win situation from what I've seen. It's up to you Optimus." Jazz looked at Optimus through the visor, then glanced at Roxy. She had moved from the ground to standing in front of Barricade.

"Well, after hearing what we know,"

"Sir?" Ironhide asked, ready to shoot.

"We will accept Barricade."

"You can_ not_ be serious!" Ironhide yelled. Roxy looked over at Barricade and flashed the thumbs up. He nodded, and sat still as Ratchet did what repairs he could. Roxy was suddenly hoisted in the air by a large, metal hand. She was placed on a familiar red shoulder and met with those two cobalt optics. 

"...You'll be safer up here." Optimus stated. "Lets head back." Optimus was already walking.

"Bumblebee, help him up." Bee, despite what this injured mech had done to him in the past, did as Ratchet asked. Optimus lead the way out with Jazz behind him. The twins kept on either side of Barricade, Ratchet in front, Ironhide brining up the rear, a cannon trained on the injured mech. 

The twins spoke through the comlink. 

_'Sunny, what's with Prime?'_

_'I don't know, he's treating Roxy like Sam treats that rodent dog of his.'_

_'Well, he's protective. Are you calling her a pet?'_

_'More like a pest, my aft is still sore from today.'_

_'You two should keep quite on issues you don't understand.'_ a new voice came into the conversation.

_'OH FRAG! Ratchet, how long have you been listening?'_ Sides asked.

_'We heard the whole thing.' _he growled.

_'WE?'_ It occurred to them that the whole group had heard them, including Optimus.

_'You two need to close outer links when you want to talk.'_ Optimus stated in a curt tone. He glanced at Roxy, thanking Primus that she didn't have a com link.

_You are special to me Roxy. Nothing and no one can change that. You are a cherished friend of mine, and you are most certainly _not_ my pet. _He looked at this girl -no, young human female, - that held onto his antennae. He felt something stir in his spark, something he had felt long ago in a state called Oregon. Something he knew better than to say out loud no matter how it burned at him. Something that he had to push down because of age. [3

_But you are special in a way that I can't fully describe._

Lesson: No one -Not even Optimus Prime- can deny their feelings. 

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

I chose green because purple is used too much.

I read up on Barricade and learned he was a hunter/tracker/scout thingy. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Age meanig that Optimus felt this way about Roxy when she was nine, and even though he isn't human, he wanted to obey the human law of '18 or older.' Yeah, I'm like that. That, and, if a relationship between the two at that time, wouldn't he considered a pedophile? 00 I couldn't do that to Opy!

Bumblebee: Opy?

R&R! REMEMBER THE ADDICTION! THANK YOU EVERYONE! 


	10. Lesson 10: Noobs

Disclaimer: People, we're ten chapters in, you should know this by now.

XxxxxxxxxX

Barricade had adjusted well within the Autobot base. He was quiet for the most part, uttering a stream of cybertronian curses only when Ratchet was plugging his nerve receptors in. He was getting his arm worked on. Roxy was breaking one of her own rule of **'don't go in the med bay unless injured.', **but she was concerned about the con-gone-neutral. It couldn't be helped, he was injured, he saved her butt, she saved his, he owes her...

...his...life? Blah, history likes to repeat itself, big whoop. Roxy pulled out her i-pod and listened to Tom Waits' gruff, demonic voice roar into her earbuds. (1)

"What is that?" a voice growled. But it was not an angry growl. She turned to Barricade and pulled out an earbud.

"It's an i-pod. 80 gigs, 55 gigs of music." Barricade did a small head tilt.

"What about the rest?" he seemed only half interested.

_Thunk!_ "No moving." Ratchet muttered. Barricade growled, and Ratchet glared.

"Eh, random crap I can't remove." she cared about the conversation as much as Barricade did.

"I better go, I don't want repeat of a last week." That got Barricade's attention.

"What happened last week?" Roxy was screwing with Barricade's head. The only thing that happened in the past week was Jazz waking up. But still, Barricade walked into it. And Ratchet felt like playing along.

"Aw, god, it was a mess! It took forever to get the medbay back in order. Bee was screaming, I was screaming because Bee was screaming, and Jazz was curled up in a corner!" Ratchet just kept doing what he was doing, keeping a straight face. Then Roxy struck a dramatic pose and yelled "He ripped a mech's arm off!"

Then she left the medbay, hardly containing her giggles. Barricade looked at Ratchet, a little skeptical. "Did that really happen?" Ratchet kept working.

"I'm not nicknamed 'Hatchet' for nothing. " That kept Barricade still for the next few hours.

X later...X

Ratchet had finished what repairs he could do, and Barricade was up and limping. He stayed out behind the hanger though, not wanting to become a target for a certain weapon specialist. Roxy had nothing to do, what with Jazz and Bee jokingly joined at the hip. She was bored out of her skull, so she might as well bug the noob.

"Hi Cade." he turned to her voice and grunted.

"Cade?"

"Well, you don't look like a Barry to me." that just confused him further.

"Why are you calling me that name?" she blinked.

"Well, it's a nickname. I give just about all my friends a nickname." She had his attention.

"Like what?" wow, he was interacting with her. About time too, Roxy was not the one for silent types.

"Well, Bumblebee gets called Bee, Jazz is still Jazz, Ironhide is Hide, Ratchet gets, well, Ratchet, And Optimus Prime gets one or the other."

"Meaning... what?" Why did he confuse so easily?

"Situation. If we are simply talking to each other, it's Optimus. If it's important with little talking time, or he pisses me off, then it's Prime."

"I understand that, but why rename them?" Okay, she was getting frustrated.

"Cos, if I give you a name, I remember who is who better." silence.

"So, when you want to remember someone, you rename them?" _Does that mean she sees me as a friend as well?_

"Yes." she pulled out her i-pod and speakers and plugged them in. Again, Tom Waits' guttural voice grated through.

"Is that human dying of something?" Roxy glared.

"This human is called Tom Waits." she flipped through a few songs. Tom Waits' voice was gone, and some man with a bouncy voice, not one for singing, came up.

"Ugh, what's wrong with this one?"

"This one is called Bob Dylan. He's a great song writer, but he can't sing worth a damn." (2) The harmonica blared at them, and Barricade visibly winced.

"Primus Almighty! Change it back!" Okay, Barricade hated Bob Dylan. Tom Waits was back, and Barricade seemed calmer. Not by much, but he stopped wincing.

"What is this human called again?" Roxy smiled. It was about _time_ she found a Waits fan in this crew!

"His name is Tom Waits, and there is a lot more of him out there." Barricade's face went blank.

"Cade?" she asked. Barricade blinked.

"What?"

"Uhh, what just happened?" she was honestly confused.

"I just downloaded all the information there is on this Waits person." she smiled. And he, for some reason, smirked back at her. Smiling was not something he was used to.

X later...X

Optimus hadn't seen Roxy much that day. He personally hated letting her out of site, but she had the right to wander about. He heard her enter his room, and greeted her with a half smile.

"I heard that you spent most of the day with Barricade. What do you think of him?"

"He is awesome!" she beamed. He raised a brow plate at that.

"How so?"

"Well, he likes Tom waits. Unlike you, who can't stand the guy."

"I don't see why his taste in music is important." Big mistake.

"Well, I love music. I know you do, but you don't tell me what you like."

"Maybe you should ask."

"Well, now I don't _want_ to know." she growled.

"Fine by me." he just realized his mistake.

"Optimus, you know me. I need something interesting to happen otherwise I do stupid things."

"If Barricade is so interesting, why not bunk with _him_ tonight?" Oh shit.

"Ok." her voice was quiet, just a bit more quiet than her normal voice. He didn't have time to say anything else before she was out of his room. He was left staring at an empty doorway.

"...Primus..." he held his head with one hand.

Roxy was fuming. She was not happy with the current situation. Either Prime had something up his aft or he was jealous. Hold on, the great Optimus Prime? A jealous bunk buddy? Hmm, if Barricade wouldn't take her in, then Jazz was an option. But then again, he liked to ask questions...

"Roxy, why are you up?" She turned to the rasp, and stared into the green eyes of none other than...

"I could ask the same thing, Cade." she grumbled. "Prime said to bunk with you, so, may I?" Barricade was not stupid, he could tell there was more to it than that. But it was late, and he was tired. He gave a nod, and turned back to his room. Roxy followed. He laid flat on his back, ignoring the strange twist his spark was having. Roxy plopped down a few feet away. The bots had no real body temp, so things got cold at night. For some reason, the concrete felt especially cold tonight.

She felt talons encircle her, and the ground was gone. She was rested on something very warm and humming.

Barricade had hoisted her off the floor and had placed her right over his spark casing! Roxy didn't know whether to freak out or feel flattered. To late for either now, Barricade was out of it. All she knew was that she would be sleeping well.

For a few hours, anyway.

"SSHHSS! Do you want to wake him up?!" Who the hell was that?

"Shut up you dumb fragger! It was your idea!" Twins. Damn it, why won't anyone let her sleep?

She tapped her foot on Barricade's chassis. The mech stirred. "What now?" Roxy climbed down to his side and whispered.

"The twins are trying to prank you or something." Barricade glared at her.

"Why prank me?"

"You're the new guy! They got me too!" Barricade growled at that. Who would prank someone like her? And why the hell did he _care_? He pushed her into a corner and froze in a crouch by the doorway. A moment later, he launched himself at the first thing in veiw, which was Sunny. A short tussle ensued before the rest of the base was up.

" WHAT ARE YOU SLAGTARDS DOING?" Ironhide boomed. Barricade let go of Sunny and backed off.

"These to were trying to prank me." Barricade growled, not in the mood for an argument.

"Were not!" Sides yelled, failing to hide the can of pink paint behind his back.

Optimus looked for Roxy, but she was no where to be seen. "Where is Roxy?" it was almost a threat. Barricade glared right at the Autobot leader, only to be met with an equally fierce stare. Someone cleared their throat, and the group looked down to see an angry Roxy. She spoke to no one directly, but she didn't need to.

"It is one o'clock in the morning. No human or mech should be awake at this time." Roxy growled through clenched teeth.

"Come back in a few hours and you can try again! Only guess what? I'm NOT GONNA BE HERE!" The twins had gotten Roxy mad before, but something was off. They just didn't know what... wait, didn't she sleep in Prime's room? Why was she with Barricade? And why the _pit_ was she giving Prime a _death glare_?!

Oh, wait, the pieces were falling into place. Prime had pissed his pet - no, his human - off, so she was bunking with the new guy!

"Bee, can I bunk with you?" Bee was half awake, but he walked over to her and picked her up. He glanced over his shoulder plate at Optimus, only to find him staring into space. Bee kept walking. Optimus came out of his trance and glared at the twins.

"I'll deal with you two later." he muttered. He heard a voice over his comlink.

_'Optimus, why ain't Roxy witcha?'_ Jazz spoke.

Optimus didn't turn to his second in command. He simply walked away and in a flat voice he said, _'Just go back to bed.'_

Lesson: Noobs tend to cause trouble without meaning to.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

1 If you want to hear the Tom Waits I like, look for his song 'Hold On' on you tube. (most of his work is scary at first, FYI.)

2 In my opinion, Bob Dylan has many talents, but singing isn't one of them.

I want to apologies for my time away, but my grades are out of the toilet and higher than ever! I'm a bit disappointed that no one took a crack at my little one-shot thing, but it's still up and waiting! Please R&R!


	11. Lesson 11: Beware

Okay, before you read this chapter, chapter 10 has been replaced with a story chapter. And I still only own Roxy, Tank, Kale, Susan and Zeke. Enjoy!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

After the twins tried to prank Barricade, Roxy went to bunk with Bee. He was not all too sure what happened between her and Optimus, but he could guess. And judging by Roxy and her startling tone of voice issues, he knew it had more to do with emotion than words. Or, maybe Optimus made a face at something?

Roxy had once said "Why explain something with a huge speech when you can use your face?" (and then crushed a soda can with her forehead.) Bee had to do that when he lost his voice, and it worked well enough. The one thing about human faces and mech faces was that human faces were always changing. The lightest twitch of a single face muscle could convey the most complex feeling. Mech's faces were more fixed, not half as expressive as a human face was. That was why they relied on their optics and voice tone more than anything.

"muh, bu hada blu numa!" Roxy mumbled from her sleeping spot within the yellow mech. She liked to sleep inside of Bee and Jazz, on top of Hide or Ratchet, and anywhere involving Optimus. That was why he saw her bunking with him as a problem. If Roxy liked it, then that mean Prime loved it. Well, _her_, more likely. He wasn't too sure, but he new something was up with Prime about Roxy, and he filled it in from there.

"wyr we movun?" Roxy sat up in the back seat and crawled over the armrest. Bee was driving because he knew that if Roxy didn't get food within five minutes of waking up in the morning, rocks were thrown and feelings got hurt. He was pretty certain Roxy had no rocks, but the last time he thought Roxy was unarmed, he poked her to the point of a rock knocking him out. He was not going to risk it.

"I know how you are when your hungry." she crawled into the passenger seat and said,

"If you have a holo, pop it now, k?" and pop he did. There in the drivers seat was a young man who looked fresh out of high school. He wore a bright yellow vintage jumpsuit with bold black stripes on the sleeves and pants, with sparkling blue eyes and a cute, boyish face. He smiled at her through the honey blond bangs that draped themselves playfully over his pale face. His hair went just past the pierced earlobe, and on his right middle finger, he wore a ring with the Autobot insignia.

"Frag hon, you are cute." The holo blushed.

Roxy saw Bee as her high school aged brother who was not quite ready for graduation. Jazz was the college grad that worked at a record store, Ratchet was the one uncle that was an ex army doc that worked in the triage center of a big hospital, Ironhide was the trigger happy war vet uncle you tried to keep the liquor away from on holidays, the twins were those two cousins that you try to avoid, and Optimus was...

...well, that uncle you have awkward feelings for.

"So, what do you want today?" Bee asked. Roxy was hungry, and searched her pants for money. She pulled out a twenty.

"Bah, anywhere close." He sped away until a Starbucks came into view.

"Here okay?"

"Yeah, I want coffee." Bee pulled into the drive-through, causing Roxy's pulse to spike. Not by much, but enough for him to feel it through his seats. "Bee, I want to go inside."

"Roxy, you're not wearing shoes." Roxy looked down at her feet, wiggling her toes. Bee pulled forward.

'Heno, melob do sarvug bay I dage yur orter?' You'd think that by 2012 that drive-through technology would improve. Sadly, that was not the case.

" Hi! Double half non fat super vegan mocha latte duo espresso with a blueberry scone please!"

"Tall or sball?"

"Tall."

" 8. 99 Dest Bidowh Blees!" As Bee pulled forward, Roxy grumbled about high prices for coffee. Bee was smiling to himself. He would use the drive-through whether Roxy had shoes or not. He had a plan. Roxy had made a few rules for herself involving the bots. One of the rules was '**Avoid eating within an Autobot.' **She had hot coffee. She was not about to break that rule.

_Perfect. I just hope this works._ Bee thought to himself as Roxy paid for her food. He turned around and headed for the base. Barricade was outside the base, and gave them both a wave. Roxy stepped out of Bee, who shifted and stood.

Barricade bared his 'teeth' in greeting, mostly at Roxy. '_Slag, the stupid fleshy is growing on me!'_

"Lady and gentlebot, the King of mopes." He whispered, and pointed into the hanger. There, with his back to them, was a rather depressed Optimus. Roxy glared at Barricade.

"When did you get a sense of humor?" she growled, voice venomous with sarcasm.

"Around the time you lost yours." he growled back. She walked into the hanger, purposefully ignoring the 'King of Mopes.', and sat at the cheap, human sized table. If he wanted her to talk to him, he'd have to start. She was still pissed off about last night, and was in no mood for him to beat around the bush. She saw the twins coming, and waited.

"Good morning Roxy!" Sunny said a bit too innocently.

"Keep me out of it." She sipped her coffee.

Ratchet came from the opposite direction. "Hello Roxy."

"Hey Ratchet." she took a bite of her scone. Why a scone? Well, why not?

Jazz was already in the front room, and he was in on Bee's little plot. He had made a bet with the yellow bot on what would happen first. Roxy forgiving Prime, or Prime asking to be forgiven.

Nothing against the Boss Bot, but he bet on Optimus caving in. So, to move things along, he walked out to Bee and waved at Roxy.

"Yo Red."

"Yo!" she didn't look up, but she did flash the peace sign. Okay, Optimus was up. He turned around and walked to Roxy, stopping just behind her.

"Hello Roxy." No response.

"Roxy?" She wasn't wearing her ear buds, so she could here him. She couldn't _still_ be mad. Could she?

_Well, if music got me into this, I'm certain it can get me out._ He thought. He carefully lowered himself to her level, his hydrolics hissing and servos adjusting. His joints bending and clicking as he positioned himself. Now to find the right song... hm, that was quick.

_**I'm sorry I'm bad, **_

_**I'm sorry I'm blue, **_

_**I'm sorry bout all the things **_

_**I said to you and I know **_

_**I can't take it back**_

Roxy turned to see Optimus, kneeling at her level, giving her some sort of 'sorry puppy apologizing' look. For some reason, she was both melting and irritated. She crossed her arms at him.

"You know, that look kind of ruins the whole 'bad ass Autobot leader' thing." He gave a head tilt, and she stood still. Optimus pulled back slightly, possibly to leave. The next thing he knew, Roxy had latched herself onto his face. She pressed her cheek onto his helmet and smiled. He seemed relieved, and chuckled, leaning into the hug. He put his hand around her and stood up. Roxy was on his shoulder, her smile unfading.

"You are aloud to apologize like a normal guy, you know that, right?" he just kept smiling as they left the hanger, not noticing the green glare Barricade was giving the back of his head.

"Jealous." Bee taunted. Barricade huffed.

"I'm not jealous." he grumbled.

"Jeal_oooouuuus._" Bee taunted. Barricade glared at him.

"Not. Jealous." it sounded like a warning.

"Jeal. Ous." Bee smiled. Barricade gave a low rasping growl and faced him, teeth bared in anger.

"I am **not** _**JEALOUS**_!" He stormed off to his quarters. Bee rolled his optics.

Jazz had been leaning against the hanger, watching the little meltdown occur.

_'So Bee, ya really think he's jealous of the boss bot?' _Jazz asked via comlink.

_'Yeah, definitely!'_ He turned to Jazz, and scowled. _'Do I _have_ to pay up?'_

Jazz smirked._ 'Bet your aft ya do.'_ Bee went into an automatic pout, and Jazz laughed.

0o House... o0

Optimus set Roxy on the deck like he normally did in the mornings. He had just set her down when Ironhide drove into the driveway. Sam hopped out and ran to the passenger side door.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Roxy called out.

"Groceries." Mikela said, hopping out of Ironhide.

Roxy waved franticly. "Hi Mik! I'm coming down!" She climbed back onto Optimus, who set her down by Ironhide. Roxy took a bag in each hand and went to the back door. Sam opened it and the three went inside. Roxy was unloading the groceries when she started reading the labels.

"Soy-joy? Kaishi? Freakin' Silk? What the heck is going on? " She looked at Sam, who just shrugged.

"It's a health food invasion! Get under the table!" Roxy dove under the table. Sam rolled his eyes. That girl was random. She went quietly out the back door. Optimus was standing outside, and watched Roxy army crawl onto the deck.

"Roxy, what are you doing?" he asked. She looked up.

"The health food! It is invading!" he picked her up, frowning.

"I do not want to know." He placed her back on his shoulder, and went back to the hanger. Bee raced by, and Roxy waved. "Aren't you a vegan?"

"There is a difference between 'Vegan' and 'Psycho health nut.' Fruit over soy-enriched-imitation-chocolate-flavored-fiber-drink any day."

"...good point." They were quiet for a minute.

"You know, I hate it when we argue."

"So do I, Roxy."

"Yeah, and Cade's not that fun."

"Oh really? How so?"

"He was calling you the 'King Of Mopes' earlier. It wasn't funny."

"..."

Her hand went to his antennae. That seemed to be her new habit. He had no objections, and continued to the hanger.

X later...X

The twins had landed themselves in the medbay, and Barricade was scrapping pink paint off his aft. Bee had gone to check on Sam and Mikela. That was a few hours ago. The relative quiet was shattered when Bee raced up, shifting in mid stop, and started rambling at the top of his audio capacitor. Roxy stood from her place on Optimus.

"Bee? Bee honey calm down! What's going on?" He was ranting in cybertronian, so she was worried. They only went into their native tongue when they were hiding something or were freaked out. The screaming Autobot was deffinatly not hiding anything.

"I don't know! Sam said something and-and Mikela said something and then they got louder and were screaming! Then it got all quite and Sam was freaking out! Oh no what if they're splitting up! Where will I go? CAN THEY FIGHT FOR CUSTODY OF A GAURDIAN?!" The rant ended when a pebble hit Bee in the head. Roxy balanced on Optimus' shoulder, adjusting her feet. Then, with one skilled lunge, she was on Bee's shoulder.

"Take me there." Bee ran for the house, the others following close behind. Roxy had never seen Bee this upset. He was a spazz, but this was no spazz attack. They saw Sam standing on the deck.

"Sam, what happened?" Roxy had climbed down to the deck.

"I just didn't want any more health food! She can eat it all she wants, I was fine at the start. But she just made the diet even more strict! All I said was I was sick of health food." Sam was passed freaked.

"Sam, I need you to do me a favor." Roxy was using her 'Rawr! I is a leader!' voice. Sam looked at her, a bit confused

"Breath. Can you do that for me?" Sam took a deep breath.

"Good. Now, distract her. Bee, hold me to the window. I have an idea." Sam nodded and went inside. Bee held Roxy up to the window. It was open, and without a word, she slipped into the room.

"Mik?" Mikela was sitting on the floor, a chair in front of the door. Roxy walked carefully across the floor, her bare feet silent the cold oak floor. She looked at the woman staring at her, and knelt down. She was not good at this kind of thing, but she would try. Roxy stayed still, trying to think of what to say. Then, it simply happened.

"This isn't about health food, is it Mik?" Roxy may have learned patience from Optimus, but Ironhide taught her to intimidate. What she wasn't expecting was for Mikela to have a meltdown.

"C'mon. You can tell me." Roxy was never good at comforting people. She felt odd trying to calm down the crying woman in front of her. So she waited.

"Mik? Please, we need to know whats wrong." Mikela looked up and made eye contact. She saw just how different she was from this teenager. Her scarily pale skin looked even paler compared to her natural tan. The two vibrant moss green eyes framed by red lashes and hair. They were different, but they had one thing in common.

They had both been locked up for foolish reasons. (1)

"I...I don't want this baby." she moaned softly, looking at the wall.

"What?"

"I-I cant do this. I know I'm due in a month, but..." She looked back up at Roxy,and found her smiling. Why the hell was she smiling?

"Mik, this is normal. A lot of women go through something like this. My mom did when she was trying to..." Roxy looked away for a moment. Then she sighed, and turned back, her gaze serious.

"I'll tell you something. It's no secret, but it _is_ something I like to keep quiet. Do you know who my dad is? Well, I don't either. Mikela, I won't go into detail, but I will say this. My father was a, well, a donor of sorts." Mikela stared. What?

"My mom had issues when she was in high school. Issues that made it difficult to have a child. So, when she finally wanted one, a one-on-one thing didn't work. So she tried donors until I popped out."

Roxy smiled. "And she had some of the worst feelings while pregnant with me. I just know this because my mom talks in her sleep. What I'm saying is that you are doing just fine! And _we_ are going to make sure that your fine. All of us. I blame the health food, by the way.

Mikela smiled. "Thank you. Can I ask you something though? I mean, about you?"

"Sure."

"...how many? I mean, before she had you?" as soon as she said it, it felt like mistake.

Roxy stood and helped Mikela onto her feet. She walked to the door and removed the chair that had blocked entry. "I was the last of seven." (2)

She opened the door and stood back as Sam enveloped Mikela in a hug. Roxy cautiously went around the two. She walked out on the deck, the bots waiting.

"Alright, listen up guys. Mikela is having a few problems. They are mental, not physical. She has explained to me that she has been stressed about the baby. We may need to keep a closer eye on her after the baby is born." They seemed to understand. Bumblebee-who was on the verge of a meltdown when it all started- looked relieved and confused.

"Why after?" he asked.

"Postpartum depression." Ratchet answered. Roxy nodded.

"Okay, so, from what Sam told me, Mik has destroyed the evil health food, so we humans are screwed on dinner." She looked at the deck, and mumbled, "Unless..." she looked around.

"Ironhide, we need a miracle!" she climbed over the deck railing and was grabbed before dropping the other ten feet to the ground. "Not what I had in mind, but okay!" Ironhide was used to this human doing strange things. So her jumping off the deck was no big deal. She climbed up his arm, and sat happily on his shoulder. Then Ratchet noticed she was out of breath.

"Are you alright Roxy?" Roxy looked over at the medic.

"Ah, no. I'm fine. Gah, man, I'm out of shape." she leaned back on Ironhide's shoulder, her head disappearing along with her top half when she leaned back. "Shit, I'm out of shape."

"Uh, guys?" they all looked down at Sam, who had stepped out on the deck unnoticed.

"What uh, what are you doing?" Roxy popped back into view.

"We were talking about a miracle!" she piped. Sam blinked.

"Okay... what kind of miracle?"

"We need to feed the people! Where can we go buddy?" she was hyper, oh well.

"Uh, I think Wendy's?" he mumbled.

"Quick! To Wendy's!" Ironhide set her down and transformed. "Wait! I need the orders!" Ironhide sighed. This would take awhile.

Lesson: Beware of health food.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

1 Mikela went to juvie for her dad. Roxy was locked up because her mom's a drunk.

2 That was _a_ secret but not _the_ secret, FYI.

Bleh, I hate how this chapter turned out. I'll probably redo it when the fic is done. Oh well. R&R!


	12. Lesson 12: Fear

I only own Roxy, Tank, Zeke, Kale and Suzan.

**A/N:** A lot of my loyal reviewers aren't being as ,well, loyal. I'm not complaining, I'm just asking what's up.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ratchet watched Optimus run about the base, the situation making him smirk.

They had a meeting with the new SECDEF. Optimus, Ironhide, and Ratchet were the ones attending. Bumblebee didn't attend the very first meeting because he had been in Sec7 custody for some of the important stuff. The twins had only landed a year or so ago, Barricade was an ex-Con, and Jazz was considered dead for five years.

So, Bee, Jazz, The twins, and Barricade were left back at the hanger. With Roxy. Alone. For six hours. It was no wonder Optimus Prime had his wires in a bunch. But what had Ratchet smirking at it all was the fact that Prime was practically tailing the Twins giving them a list of 'dos and don'ts' about the mellow red head lounging on the floor.

"Absolutely no caffeine..."

"Got it." Sunny said, not really listening. Bee already knew the rules on Roxy, and he'd enforce them. Well, at least the mandatory ones anyway.

"...that includes sugar, soda, candy and anything else that can cause hyper activity."

"Primus, you'd think she were glass." Sunny muttered.

"To _us_ she is." Sides grumbled. Prime kept ranting. Jazz stood against a wall, fighting the urge to laugh. It had been a long time since he had seen Prime so detailed on Roxy's care.

"...do not trick and or force her into eating animals or their by-products..."

"Oh COME _ON_! You _really_ think we would do that?" Sides yelled out suddenly. The unwavering stare of the Autobot leader made it clear.

"Point taken." Sides growled. Optimus smirked and turned to the teen on the hanger floor, her eyes closed, legs crossed, one bare foot tapping to the mute beat.

"_Sublime. In music and mind."_ Jazz spoke through the comlink. Optimus gave a nod, and slowly approached Roxy, still tapping her foot. When that girl got into it, the world disappeared. Even the movement of a twelve ton mech couldn't shake her. She did, however, see the blue glow coming up from her feet to her chest. Then felt the vibrations of two, heavy hands planted on each side of her several feet away. She opened her eyes to find two cobalt optics feet from her face. She stuck her foot up and planted it on his nose.

"Woah woah woahwowowowooah! What the hell are you doing?" she pushed on his nose, propping herself onto her butt.

"Saying goodnight. I'm not certain when we'll be back. Feel free to sleep at the house." He looked up and past her to see the twins arguing with each other. "...maybe we should cancel..."

"Prime, go, try not to die of boredom. I'll call if anything's up." She was smiling at him, then looked past him, up at the ceiling. "Huh, a catwalk. Cool." Optimus leaned back onto his feet and stood. He looked at the catwalk and said firmly,

"No. It's an eighty foot drop. It's rusty and unstable, and if you fall, you _will_ die."

"If I recall correctly, I have fallen off of your head to the ground without a single bruise." It was true, he couldn't deny that. But she forgot the circumstances. She fell off of his head onto a pile of grass. Bushy, wild, grass that came up to her waist-which was the reason she was on his head in the first place. He had stumbled, she fell off, he panicked, she avoided him for the rest of the day. The hanger floor was concrete, not her native Condon Oregon turf. (1)

"True, but then again, I am not an eighty foot drop." she stood up and walked over to the catwalk.

"That can't be eighty feet up." She muttered. She heard the hydrolics and felt the fingers surround her. She was off the ground and mock-glaring at Prime.

"Please, don't tempt fate." His voice was soft, docile in a way only he could convey. The voice of a commander that had seen enough, if not a bit too much.

"Don't worry, I'll stay within Jazz' height range."

"I heard that!" The short bot called from the wall.

Optimus smiled and set Roxy down. "Well we have to g- Recharge! I forgot to tell them your recharge rules!" Roxy almost died on the spot. She had to fight a laughing fit. She couldn't hide her giggles when the twins looked at each other, each grabbed one of Prime's arms and pulled him to Ratchet at the hanger door.

"-No later than 12! And no monster films! Don't let her sleep on the floor! And if the temperature drops to 45 degrees or lower, send her to the house to sleep or give her socks! No exceptions!" He was at the door when Ratchet grabbed one arm and pulled him out of the hanger.

"Have fun." Ironhide said sarcastically. She waved at them, and then the beacon went off. She pulled it out of her back pocket, reading Optimus' symbol. She pushed the button.

"Yeah?"

,.;Can you turn the volume up?;.,

Roxy turned the volume to full blast, and nearly threw the dumb thing across the hanger after Prime spoke. ,.;KEEP HER AWAY FROM THE CATWALK!;., _KSHSH_!

X...Later...X

"-dumb fragger won't trust...me leavin' me hear with two psychopaths and the midgets...wait how tall is Cade...oh gah who frickin cares-" Roxy had been growling about her current situation for a good half hour. Bee decided that it was a good idea to bug Roxy. But, he had an idea. Back in Oregon, Roxy had explained how everything was connected. It even came with a little dance. But Roxy had told them that without the info on the world, they may screw humans over without meaning to. So they sat still and watched her explain how things worked.

And then were paranoid for an hour after that, worried that stepping on a bug could kill all of mankind.

"Hey Roxy? I don't think the Twins have heard your Life speech yet." The girl perked up and dashed outside. The Twins were worried about Roxy injuring herself (which would in turn cause _them_ injury...) so they followed her out.

Bee watched as Roxy went through the motions. 'Sit please. Thank you. Hey, drop the balloon. NO NOT ON **ME**! FRAG!' Bee smiled as Roxy threw a rock at Sideswipe. He heard Jazz walk up behind him, and the two watched Roxy hop about for a minute. Then Jazz spoke.

"She doin' da Life thing for um?" Bee looked at Jazz, cheek plates turned up to form a smile.

"Yeah. Goofy girl, thinks they're paying attention." silence.

"Has she done da funky chicken yet?"

"No, not yet...wait, there she goes." Roxy was, indeed, doing the funky chicken. Barricade looked up from the data pad he had been fooling with.

"What about a chicken?" Bee was still smiling as he turned to Barricade.

"Funky Chicken. It's a dance that Roxy does when she gives her Life speech." Barricade blinked.

"What in Primus' name is the Life speech?" Jazz turned and gave a glare under his visor.

"If ya so interested, ask her when she's done wit' em." Bee whistled at Jazz in discontent. Jazz had made it obvious that he didn't like Barricade very much. True, he trusted him, that didn't mean he had to like him.

That, and he saw the way he looked at Roxy. It was almost the way Prime looked at her when she would sleep by him. Accept Barricade looked at her that way all the time. It was like a one sided challenge with his commander. And Jazz didn't like it one slagging bit.

Bee felt the tension between the two, and broke the silence.

"She'll probably turn you back if you go out now. Wait until the twins come back." Barricade grunted and went back to the data pad. The twins came back in a few moments later.

"Hey guys. How'd it go?" Bee tried to lighten the room, but the way they looked at him told him to shut up. They simply walked to their shared quarters. A minute later, they ran out, yelling in cybertronian.

Roxy stared at the two, a bit confused. "What is it?"

"Roxy! Quick! We need you!" She was then hoisted off the ground and rushed to the twins room. She was not happy with this. But at least they didn't squeeze her this time. They set her on the floor.

"Okay you freaks. What's so important?" Sunny pointed at a corner of the room, where a frightened, long limbed thing sat. It could fit in the palm of her hand, and it's six tiny eyes seemed to stare at her, the fragile hairs covering itself giving it the look of a mass of brownish-gray pipe cleaners.

"A spider?"

"A slaggin' huge spider!" Sunny yelled. Jazz looked down at it, and searched the Internet for the creature.

"Guys, it's just a wolf spider." Jazz sighed. The twins could take out five cons at once, but they were strangely arachnophobic. (3)

"For gods sake! It's a harmless little organic bug hunter!" Roxy growled and crouched down to look at the spider. If they could shake, this little fellow would be vibrating. She laid a hand down in front of it. She coaxed it into it with her other hand, gently tapping his bum. Sunny looked ready to shoot it along with Roxy, but she was already walking out of the hanger, spider in hand.

"What if it bites?" Sides asked.

"He won't."

"But-"

"Guys. He won't bite. He won't waste his venom on me." She set him down by a bush, and he ran for freedom. "Bee? Can you take me to the house? I'm getting hungry." Bee nodded, and shifted, peeling out for the house when she stepped inside.

"Man, what was that about?" Jazz asked the twins.

"Dude, Roxy said that if we kill something that's not a threat, we could endanger mankind!" Sides yelled. Jazz was actually gaping at the twins. He finally found what he was trying to say.

"Guys, that was a joke."

"If it were a joke, it would have been funny!" Sunny scoffed. Jazz rolled his optics and went back to the hanger.

X...House...X

Roxy ate a banana and headed back outside. Sam was dragging the trash cans back from the mailbox. It was a long walk, but it was good exercise. He had one in one hand, two in the other. Bee set Roxy down, and she grabbed one.

"I got this one." She said, dragging it the rest of the way. Then, she looked in the can, and ran to the family compost heap. Her hands were shaking, and Sam dropped the cans and ran over to her. Bee suddenly grabbed Sam and kept him off the ground.

"Bee, what the hell?" Sam said, referring to the girl that was now vomiting on the compost heap. Bee set Sam down, and simply said,

"She's scoleciphobic." Sam looked up at Bee.

"What?" Bee looked a bit sheepish, then bent down and whispered.

"Maggots, Sam. Roxy is terrified of maggots" Sam quirked an eyebrow, and walked to the trash can. Indeed, there in the bottom were dozens of squirming, rice shaped maggots. Bee looked over at the young woman vomiting by the compost heap. "It's just something that she's always had. Nothing caused it, it's... just always been."

"Bee, I can hear you." Bee beeped indignantly and stood up. Roxy turned and looked at Sam, eyes blurred.

"Sam, can you-" Sam already had a hose in his right hand. He turned the hose on and sprayed the vomit and the inside of the trashcan. Bee picked Roxy off the ground and went back to the hanger. Bee glanced at her.

"You remember, don't you?" She said softly. Bee nodded sternly. Back in Oregon, Bee witnessed first hand Roxy after seeing a bird corpse infested with maggots. He had also been covered in the aftermath. He had no clue what made her vomit, so after a visit to Ratchet, Roxy told them about the bird.

Optimus had Ironhide find and incinerate the body. Roxy cleaned Bee off, apologizing the entire time. He still didn't understand why she was sorry about a normal human response. She said that Kale told her that only freaks puke when they saw maggots. Bee couldn't tell her that Kale was just being an dumbass, but he could send the conversation sound-byte to Jazz. And Jazz could use his prototype hologram to explain what happened.

But no one, especially Roxy, new that Zeke would actually _hit_ Kale. (4)

Roxy had said it was just a slap, nothing major. But to them, any violence was major.

"Bee, I know what you all thought of Zeke after that. But I lived with the guy for six years, he was _not_ a kid beater. After I asked him to stop, he did."

"Until Kale called you a dyke the next month. You didn't know what it meant then, so you asked us. We honestly thought telling Zeke was a good idea." _Until Zeke gave him a black eye._

"You know I don't blame you guys. It's no wonder Kale hates me." Silence.

X...later...X

"Okay, how about 'The Ring'?"

_No way._

"'The Grudge'?"

_No_.

"Alright pickybot, pick out a genre."

Roxy was standing in the middle of a DVD rental store, the beacon in one hand. She turned the volume down to a barley audible range, and was arguing with the yellow bot parked outside.

_Okay, lets see...dramedy...shock-horror...hmm, Bavarian Porn?_

"Bee, if I've said it once I'll say it again. No Porn. I don't care how much you want to see a human mating ritual. The answer is no."

_Oh come on! Give me a reason!_

"Because, human mating rituals are disgusting. End of discussion." Bee hadn't heard Roxy talk that fast in a long time.

_Grudge?_

"The Grudge is fine. Hell, if we have time, we can watch the sequel."

_Sequel! WOO!_

Roxy smiled and shut off the beacon.

X...meanwhile...X

Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide were inside the secret base that the yearly SECDEF meetings were held. Ratchet had been monitoring his leaders vitals the entire time. He wasn't too worried about Roxy, though. She could take care of herself for the most part. He had also taken precautions to ensure the redhead a safe night. He put a door on Ironhide's room, checked for security factors, gave the twins a Hatchet-grade warning, and even showed Roxy what wire to pull to knock a rowdy mech into recharge. The girl was safe as could be. And then Ironhide asked a question that struck the three of them cold.

"Ratchet, did we hide the High Grade?"

Ratchet placed a hand over his face, Ironhide whirred his cannons, and Optimus bit back a whimper.

X...Hanger...X

"Oh my god! That was awful! The first one was fine, but I am never watching the sequel again!" Roxy growled as the credits rolled.

"The bacon part was just _wrong_!" Sunny yelled

"Yeah, and the milk! What in the pit was that about?" Barricade snorted.

"Maybe it was to show that she was crazy?" Bee asked.

"The whole fraggin' film was crazy! Next time we're watchin' somethin' wit' some action." Jazz commented. Roxy popped the DVD out of the player and into its case. Then she looked up.

"Guys, where's Sideswipe?" The bots looked around. Where _was_ Sideswipe? The lights came up, and there was Sides with a few cubes of energon. But it looked different. Roxy quirked her head slightly.

"What's in that?"

"It's High grade Red. It's like moonshine."

"Will it make you go blind?"

"It don't work dat way on us Red, but it's pretty damn gnarly."

"Like malt liquor or something?" Her tone hurt his audio receptors.

"Don' worry Red, we don't get like that. It'll take a lot to get me that way."

"And the others?"

"Steer clear of Bee. He's a flyweight. Don't know about Barricade. I'd stay away from him though, just to be safe, kay?" _Even without High Grade, you should stay away from Barricade, Red._

Roxywalked out of the hanger. "Hey Roxy! Where you going?" Sides apparently had too much already.

"I'm gonna keep a look out for Optimus and the others." She lied. She didn't want to be near them, or anyone, that had that kind of shit in their system. Not after what her mom did.

Thank god for the trees. She could trust the trees.

X...Meanwhile...X

The meeting closed without event, and the three mechs turned for home. Optimus had to be reminded multiple times by Ratchet to mind the speed limit. It eventually ended up with Ratchet in front and Ironhide on the side. Prime couldn't help it that he was concerned about Roxy. He didn't want to leave her alone in the first place. He hated to admit it, but his duty would always be first.

And he didn't see his role changing anytime soon.

They pulled into the long, dirt drive way, Optimus shifting the moment they were hidden within the trees. Sam was on the deck, scrubbing a trashcan with steel wool and green gloves.

"Hello Sam. Why you are cleaning that trash can?" Sam didn't even look up.

"Maggots. They were in the bottom. Gotta clean 'em out."

"Sam-"

"Yes, yes she did."

"Did she-"

"Yep! Right by the compost heap. Missed me completely."

"Did she-"

"Optimus, Bee explained everything. Roxy is fine. No worries big guy."

"Thank you Sam. Is she with you?"

Sam stopped and looked up at the bot. "No, but I do know she's not in the hanger."

"...I don't understand."

"Me neither. I just saw her walk out and head for the woods." He said, taking off the gloves. The three bots looked at each other, and headed for the woods. The trees were several feet taller than him, so Optimus had to look up to find Roxy. The three mechs searched for some sign of their strange red haired companion. Optimus gave up just looking, and finally called out her name.

"Roxy?" a moment later, he heard something, then a voice.

"I'm up here." Optimus looked about, searching for the voice.

"Where?"

"Look up!" she yelled. Sure enough, Roxy was siting in a tree, her feet dangling over a branch.

"There you are." He reached a hand up, and she climbed down into it.

"How long were you up there?" Ratchet asked, performing a full body scan.

"Uh, an hour maybe?"

"Why were you up there?" Optimus asked. He didn't look happy.

"High Grade." Was her simple answer. Optimus held her to his chestplate, unsure of what to say. He, along with the rest of the Autobots, didn't know how bad Roxy's mother, Susan, was with liquor. But they knew enough to know it made her head for the trees.

"You need to sleep Roxy. It's almost midnight." He mumbled, and she pressed her cheek into his chestplate. She was out of it in a moment. He smiled at her, and continued to the hanger.

Ratchet exchanged glances with Ironhide, and the two opened a private comlink.

"_So Hide, whose got it worse?"_ Ratchet asked the black mech next to him.

"_Your the medic, you tell me."_ Ratchet nudged Ironhide with his elbow. They followed their leader out of the woods, back to the drunken hanger.

Lesson: Everybody has something they fear.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

1 I looked up some info on Oregon, and Condon has a population of about seven hundred and sixty and no major highways. Perfect for hiding robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron!

2 Hangers are huge. I mean 'ZOMG WTF LOL!' huge. The Bots, supplies, and random crap doesn't even take up an eighth of the room in that thing. They are HUGE so they need space.

3 My one issue with TF:A is Primes spider thing. I find it annoying if not sad.

4 No, despite what I wrote, Zeke is _**not**_ abusive. True, I wasn't aiming for this, but it's explained in the prequel.

That's right, I said prequel.

Please Read and Review.


	13. Lesson 13: Mistakes

Guys, you know who is mine by now.

I hope you guys enjoy. And do review. If I don't know what you like, I won't know what to write!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Festivus. Just a joke holiday from a popular sitcom. And yet, Ironhide had a simple pole in his truck bed, Roxy holding onto it as he drove through the chilly December air. (1) Northern California did tend to get kinda chilly. It was December 28, and Roxy decided that the bots should celebrate something, too. They couldn't see the point behind putting a tree in the living room, or having a fictional overweight man in a red suit enter the house and leave gifts. Who even came up with that? So, Roxy suggested festivus. After looking it up, the bots agreed to it.

The reason that Ironhide had gone to get the festivus pole was that he had done something very stupid in front of Anna. No, he wouldn't dare say that Santa didn't exist. He did, however, threaten to shoot anyone dumb enough to break into the house. This gave Roxy the job of calming the little five year old. Ironhide was given a choice that day. Either go with Roxy to get a festivus pole, or...

...he could wear a Santa hat until new years eve.

He went with the pole. He had an image to obtain after all.

He looked into the idea of festivus for himself. It seemed pretty straight forward if not a bit backward. "Roxy, isn't Festivus celebrated on the twenty third?" he had asked with disdain. Roxy nodded her head.

"True, but I forgot the date. That, and, I wouldn't want to interrupt the Lennox and Witwiky holidays."

He grumbled and went over the list of what was required for this 'holiday'. They had the pole. Next came the 'Airing of grievances.' Followed by the 'Feats of Strength', which was the one thing he was even remotely looking forward to. Either way, this wasn't going to be fun for him.

X ...that night... X

Ironhide was right. It wasn't fun. It was crazy! The Airing of grievances went okay. Roxy was the only one to make an actual grievance,

He and Ratchet wound up in a 'who can knock over who first' thing, and Barricade made the mistake of challenging Bee to a wrestling match. And Bee made him proud when Barricade yelled uncle. Well, actually, he yelled _**'';;;';'''.,.:'**_, but it meant the same thing. Ironhide looked down at the ever hyper red head by his foot. "Roxy, please tell me this will be over soon"

"Well, tradition states that festivus does not end until the head of the family is wrestled to the ground. And, since Optimus is the leader of the Autobots..." They stared at Roxy, then their leader. He looked directly at Roxy.

"Please tell me you're joking." He said. Ratchet, who was thoroughly enjoying the holiday so far, looked at Optimus and said in a slightly psychotic voice,

"No joke sir. We will, however, give you a ten second head start." Oh great, they were doing it whether he wanted to or not. Roxy smiled and said quietly,

"Start running Big Guy." And run he did. Right up until Bee tackled his legs.

"Aww, Prime, at least put up a little fight!" The twins went after Bee, Sunny latching onto Prime's arm, Sides on the other. Jazz stared at the odd sight of his commander dragging himself by one foot, before finally falling over.

"Okay, he's down. It's over." Roxy said tiredly. Optimus mumbled something in cybertronian, but Roxy really wasn't paying that much attention. She was sleepy. She didn't say anything when Jazz picked her up. He got the feeling something wasn't right with the red head.

X...next day...X

Roxy was hiding something from him. He could tell, and he didn't like it. So, despite Roxy's hatred of negative attention, he had to know. Jazz knew he could simply ask her what was wrong, but where would the fun be in that? He got the feeling that his plan of 'grab her when no ones looking and go behind the hanger' wasn't going over well considering the fact that the entire hanger saw him grab her off the floor. Then he had to send them a message via the comlink that it was private. So much for being discreet.

He walked around to the back of the hanger, the less than happy red head in one hand. He sat down and looked at the young woman in his hand.

"So Red, what's making ya so blue today?" He didn't mean for it to come out so chipper. But it did, and it earned him a rather depressed glare from Roxy.

"I'm on my period, alright?" She lied. He was reading her like he had so many times before, and knew just what to say to her.

"Bullshit. That ain't why ya so down today. Now spill." he set her on his leg, and she climbed up to sit on his knee.

"It's stupid, Jazz." He wasn't buying it.

"I ain't lettin' it go till ya talk Roxy." He was serious. He never used her name unless he was.

She took a deep breath and looked at him. "Have you ever been in love?"

"Yeah, I've been there" He nodded.

"...did you ever fall in love with someone that you you've known for a while? And you want to be part of their life in that love kind of way?" He smiled.

"Yeah Red, I've been there too."

"...but the things that make you different are the reason you can't be with them? And you can't help but feel stupid for wanting them to love you back despite the differences?" She looked at her hands, and her saw her blush.

Oh, he got it now.

"Everyone wants love like that. To have someone's lap to fall asleep on. Everyone wants to be important, to be precious to someone. It's not shallow, or selfish, or stupid, or anything of the kind."

Roxy looked up at Jazz from her spot on his knee. He was looking at her, the visor hiding the concern in his optics. She actually had the privilege of seeing them back in Oregon. She thought he was blind or something. His vision was fine, he just had... other reasons for hiding them. (2)

"The trick is..." He pulled a claw down her back, giving her a knowing smile.

"You gotta love yourself first." He realized his mistake a second too late.

And for a fraction of a nanosecond, he saw fear and realization in her moss green eyes. In that small bit of time, he suddenly realized that they both knew what the other knew.

Too much. She hopped off his knee, looking at him. "Silence is golden, Jazz." she said softly. Jazz was once again reading between her lines, before he responded.

"And I ain't about to break somethin' like gold, Red." They stared at each other for a moment, and Roxy left. Jazz frowned, and turned his gaze to the silver winter sky.

X...the next night...X

The year was winding down. That night, the world would end and start again. To the bots, it seemed to make sense. To celebrate the end of a year and start of a new one seemed... appropriate.

"Okay, there's about...ten minutes left in the year. What are you guys gonna do?"

Ironhide looked at her from his place by the deck. "I'm going fire my cannons when the year ends."

Bee whirred at him. "I'm playing Old Lang Syne when it ends." Jazz groaned.

"Aw, c'mon Bee. Why dontcha play somthin' original?" Bee shrugged.

"I want to be traditional Jazz. I'm sure theres a remix out there." Roxy smiled at them as they left.

"So Optimus, what about you?" he looked at her, tilting his head.

"What?"

"Well, how do you want to spend the last minutes of the year?" She asked.

"With you." He reached out to her, a smile spreading across his mouthplates. She smiled up at him, and scaled his powerful arm, up to his shoulder.

He kept smiling, then he looked back up at the moon. She was confused. He was happy a moment ago. What happened? Then she heard the faint sound of piano.

_**A long December and there's reason to believe  
Maybe this year will be better than the last  
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leavin'  
Now the days go by so fast  
And it's one more day up in the canyons  
And it's one more night in Hollywood  
If you think that I could be forgiven...I wish you would**_

She looked at him, her dark red brows knitting in confusion. "What are you trying to say Prime?" He turned his head to her, a frown pulling at his mouth. "Forgiven for what?" She grabbed one of his antennae, and leaned to get a better look at his face. She felt her heart clench. She had never seen him look so hurt in her life. She didn't like it one bit, and comfortingly rubbed her thumb on his antennae. He seemed to relax a bit, and released a long sigh from his filters.

He reached a hand up, and touched her back with his fingers. Then, after a moment, he spoke, his voice low. "Roxy, I waited too long. I know we agreed to wait at the most ten years, but even eight was too long." He looked away from her, closing his optics. "I missed so much. I wasn't there for you when Zeke died, or to help when you were locked up. I should have been there for you. We all should have. I made a mistake-"

"No." He stopped and turned to her, and he saw a strong firmness in her eyes.

"It's true, you did miss a lot. You missed me turn into a screaming mess when Zeke's monitor stopped beeping. You missed me latching onto his brother Gabe when he was buried. You missed the tequila bottle chucked at my head during a stupid fight. You missed my breakdown that could've killed Kale."

_You missed the hell I went through._ "But you didn't make a mistake. It's better you didn't see me that way. Better for us all. Don't think for a second that you made a mistake." She broke into a wide smile, and pressed her forehead to his antennae. "That, and, my mom wouldn't want to see your holo hanging around at the funeral." He chuckled. Susan had problems with he and the other bots. (3)

"Hey guys?" Sam asked from below. They looked down. "Countdown's starting. We got a minute left." Roxy smiled again.

"Thanks Sam! Keep us posted!" Sam waved and went back inside.

"Well Roxy, what do you see for next year?" Optimus asked. She stood up and smiled.

"A second chance with all of you." She hugged the side of his head, and he pressed her into it with his hand. He turned the volume up and they both watched the sky.

_**Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after two a.m.  
And talked a little while about the year  
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,  
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her  
And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe  
Maybe this year will be better than the last  
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself  
**__**To hold on to these moments as they pass  
And it's one more day up in the canyon  
And it's one more night in Hollywood  
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean...I guess I should**___

_**na na na na**_

_**na na na na na na na na na**_

_**na na na na yeah**_

"...five..."

_**na na na na**_

_**na na na na na na na na na**_

_**na na na na yeah yeah yeah**_

"...four..."

_**na na na na**_

_**na na na na na na na na na**_

_**na na na na yeah**_

"...three..."

_**yeah**_

"...two..."

_**yeah**_

"...one..."

_**yeah**_

"Happy New Year!"

The year was over. Ironhide fired his cannons in celebration. Sam set off a couple of fireworks, and Bee played 'Old Lang Syne' at full blast.

"A new year has begun! _Saludo al futuro!_" Roxy shouted. Optimus gave her a funny look, and she blushed. "Uh... Zeke would say that. No clue what it means." (4)

"Hail to the future." he said with a smile. The celebration wound down, and so did the people. Roxy hugged Optimus again. He quirked an optic ridge.

"First hug of the new year big guy." She climbed down his arm and hopped onto the deck. She flashed the peace sign and went inside. He went back to the hanger. When Roxy wanted to come down, she'd call him or go herself.

He didn't notice a pair of green optics glaring at him. _Fool. He didn't even ask where she was going. He __didn't even ask if she'd be right back or __**anything**__! She could have just been using the... what are they called...oh, toilet!_ Barricade settled down under the deck, shifting into his alt mode. At least he would wait for her without being asked.

X...house...X

Roxy went to the fridge and grabbed a root beer. She noticed Mikela sitting on the couch, and decided to sit next to her. Mikela was such a sweetie. She was almost always smiling at something or another. But not tonight for some reason.

"Hey Mik, you feeling okay?" Mikela looked at her,smiling.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She looked down at her feet. "My feet hurt so much. It's hard to walk." She looked back at Roxy and smiled. "But the couch is comfy. Sit down." Roxy did, and watched Mikela absently rub her stomach.

"Hey Mik? Think I can..maybe... I dunno... listen to the little one?" Roxy asked sheepishly. Mikela nodded, and Roxy carefully placed her head on her stomach. She listened to the gurgling, and could feel the little body press it's limbs to the fleshy walls of its home. Roxy placed her hand on her stomach, and grinned. "Active little one, huh Mik?" Mikela nodded. Roxy carefully leaned up, and looked at her. "Happy being a mama?" She nodded, and the two sat and watched the after celebration news.

"Think the Daily Show is on?"

"Probably." And sure enough, there was John Stewart. Roxy drank her root beer and Mikela smiled at the TV. The show ended, and The Colbert Report came on. "Man has freaky looking ears, I'll say that much." Roxy mumbled. Mikela snorted, and Roxy laughed. She hadn't actually seen Mikela laugh out loud, so she saw it as a treat. Then Mikela covered her mouth, worry crossing her face.

"Mik, what's wrong?" Roxy looked at the woman, and then looked down to see a large wet spot spread across her lap. Roxy's eyes widened. "...oh my..." She hopped off the couch and raced outside to the deck. She looked around and heard the sound of a mech shifting into bipedal mode. She saw the green optics, and shouted,

"Barricade! Go get Ratchet! We need him _now_!" Barricade leaned in close and asked,

"Why? What's going on?" Roxy screamed,

"MIKELA'S HAVING THE BABY!" Barricade dashed toward the hanger. Roxy ran back inside to find Mikela breathing in short breaths. "No no no no! Mik, are you contracting yet?"

Mikela gave a strained shake of her head and gasped out. "Roxy, go get Sam!" Roxy dashed into the bed room, and grabbed Sam by the foot.

"Come on man! Get up! We gotta go!" Sam snorted and groggily looked at the girl.

"Wha?" Roxy pulled him by the foot onto the floor, impressing them both.

"Mik's having the baby!" That woke him up. "She's on the couch! I'll get the others!" she then ran out and woke the Lennox's. They woke Anna, and Roxy ran out on the deck just in time to see the entire hanger running in bipedal form toward them. Roxy waved her hands over her head to get their attention. Ratchet halted and transformed into vehicle mode. Sam had Mikela by one arm, and Bee picked them both up and loaded them into Ratchet. Ratchet took off, and Bee took off after them.

"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!" Roxy was in mid chant when Ironhide picked her up and put her on the ground. She immediately raced into Optimus' cab and he took off after them, too.

"Roxy, you need to calm down. We don't want you in the hospital as well."

"Can't help it." she was rocking back and fourth on her butt.

"If your going to rock like that I _will_ strap you in." Optimus stated flatly.

"But why?"

"Because _you_ being nervous is making _me_ nervous." She stopped rocking and he picked up speed.

Ratchet had his siren blaring, the few cars on the road speeding out of the way. The hospital was in sight, and he went faster. If he went full speed, it could cause motion sickness in humans. He really didn't want to be vomited on...in.

"C'mon Mik, deep breath-"

"STOP TELLING ME TO DEEP BREATH! IT DOESNT HELP TO DEEP BREATH!" Ratchet pulled into the Ambulance drop-off. Sam wheeled Mikela out and into the hospital. The other bots and humans waited outside, Roxy twitching in Prime's front seat. He hated it when she got twitchy.

"You _can_ go in, you know." Optimus said suddenly.

"THANKYOU!" Roxy bolted out of his cab, racing into the building. The holo watched her disappear into the building, a small smile crossing it's face. His comlink went off, and he answered quietly.

"Optimus Prime speaking."

"_I'm with Mikela big guy. She's getting a c-section. I'll keep you posted, k?"_

"Thank you Roxy." the connection ended. For half an hour, the mechs and humans waited for word of what was happening inside. Then, Prime got the call.

"_...it's a boy!" _Roxy said softly. He smiled and watched the hospital door, when a familiar cop car pulled up. Roxy almost went around it, if not for the scary looking cop.

"You ever ride in a cop car before?" Said the man with the mustache. Roxy backed up and looked at the man. She tilted her head, then noticed what was written on the side of the car. She smiled.

"Why, golly, no officer, but I would like to." She said in a high, sugary voice. The man grimaced.

"Don't do that." He growled. She smiled and climbed in the front seat, and Barricade peeled out of the parking lot. He passed the familiar charcoal BMW, who revved it's engine in utter disapproval.

_She ain't yours to be with Barricade._ Jazz though to himself. He tailed Barricade on their way back to the hanger. He was going to protect Roxy, even when she thought she was safe. He knew better. The ride back was quiet. So it gave him time to think. Roxy was in love with Prime, but what about him? Jazz got the feeling he did, but he wanted proof. He had always shown concern and protection for Roxy, but Optimus was a naturally compassionate mech. He'd have to hear it from the bots own vocal processor to know.

The hanger was in sight, and Jazz picked up speed. He sped by the hanger all together, and he waited for the others to arrive.

Barricade pulled up, and Roxy hopped out of him. he transformed, and saw optimus pick her up and head inside. he glared at the mech, but this time he glared back, anger in the normally placid optics. he glanced over his shoulder plate and saw the sun just starting to rise. Barricade turned to enter the hanger, when the second in command stepped in his way. He hadn't seen Jazz look angry other than on the battlefield. It was...disturbing, to say the least.

"She ain't yours, Barricade. Remember that." Jazz turned on his heel and went into the hanger. For the first time since arriving in the hanger, Barricade felt threatened by the height challenged lieutenant.

Lesson: We all make mistakes.

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1/ Why not Festivus?

2/ I have read one too many a fic where Jazz is either blind or visually impaired. It's an interesting idea, but not one I want to write. Wait for the prequel. It will all be explained in the prequel.

3/ Susan was convinced that Optimus (AKA: Tim Primos.) was a pedophile. (-.-')

4/ Zeke was Hispanic. I really should have said that earlier. .

**'Everyone wants love like that. To have someone's lap to fall asleep on. Everyone wants to be important, to be precious to someone. It's not shallow, or selfish, or stupid, or anything of the kind. The trick is...You gotta love yourself first.'** - this was said by a friend of mine on DA after I had a...rough time in my life. It was part a comment she left me.

Hmm, Jazz knows something. How about you? By the way, I know this is going to sound, well, bitchy of me, but I would like at least 5 reviews per chapter. I know, I'm holding the next chapter for ransom, but honestly, is 5 too much to ask? R&R please.

**Next chapter holds trouble for Roxy.**


	14. Lesson 14: Body

Okay, things are starting to get scary! Well, not really. You know who I own, now read and review!

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A week had passed since Mikela had her baby. Everything had settled down after what was known as 'A Festivus Miracle!' as Roxy had put it. January hit them full force after that, bringing forth it's freezing fury.

It was dark and cold inside the hanger. Optimus had Roxy in her normal position by his spark. But something was off that night. It was just past midnight, and the hanger was asleep. Optimus was in full recharge, unmoving and silent, his arms forming a metal fortress around the girl.

He felt something very light tap his stomach armor. A moment later, it happened again, a bit harder this time. "Prime..." someone said. He opened his optics slowly, not sure of what he would see. "Prime..."

It sounded like Roxy, and he carefully lifted himself onto an elbow. He looked down to find Roxy on her side, arms over her stomach.

"Roxy." He leaned down to look at her, pain lacing her pale features. "Tell me what's wrong. Are you hurt?" she looked up at him, her voice just above a whisper. Her breathing was heavy, and she croaked out two simple words.

"help...me..." He scooped her up and thundered into the medbay, panic creeping into his cerebral processor. He was relieved to find Ratchet awake at that hour. He didn't say a word as Roxy was handed to him. He carefully placed her on the large medical table, unfolding her with gentle, practiced off-yellow fingers. He had her laying flat, and did an entire body scan.

"What's wrong with her?" Prime asked from behind him. He ignored him. Ratchet looked at the red head, her gaze panicked. Not her usual ranting, sugar induced spazzy panic, but pure, true panic. A few strange instruments appeared from his wrist, and Roxy lay still, pain throbbing in her right side. There was a light at one end of a long cable, and it moved from one eye to the other. Another cable went forward and tapped her behind the ear.

"Pupils are dilating normally, temperature is up to one-hundred-and-one-point-three..." he muttered to himself. The cable with the light shown above Roxy's head, her eyes half closed from the pain. She looked up into the blue optics, and blinked in mild irritation.

"Roxy, I need you to watch the light for me." Ratchet said calmly. She turned and looked at the light, before a pink light came on, and her head fell back. Prime blinked, unsure of what had just occurred.

"I've forced her into a short recharge cycle. She'll need it." Ratchet said quietly.

"What is going on Ratchet?" Optimus was aggravated by the medic's refusal to respond.

"It's acute appendicitis. She has a high fever and her appendix has burst. We have to get her to into surgery." Ratchet said, worry edging his voice.

"What? Can't you do anything?" Prime asked.

"I don't have the right tools. And if I did, I don't have the right anesthesia. And even then we don't have a sterile environment. We have to hurry." He said, mild anxiety prodding at his spark.

"Ratchet, we can't just-"

"Prime, if I don't get her to the hospital, she is going to die." That shut him up. Ratchet shifted and opened his back doors.

"There's a gurney by the table. Set her on it and roll her in." Prime did, not looking away from the prone form of the young woman. He carefully rolled her onto her back, letting his fingertips linger for a moment. He pulled his hand out, and the doors closed. He looked through the windows, seeing her stir from the forced sleep. She looked at him, eyes confused. He locked his optics with her eyes.

_You'll be alright, I promise._He thought, more to assure himself than anything. Ratchet peeled out of the medbay, sirens blaring. The sound woke the hanger, flooding the Autobot Leader with questions he didn't hear. He couldn't hear anything from any of them. They were talking too much, too fast, all at once. His internal comlink sounded, and he answered it with silence.

"_Optimus, what happened?'"_It was Jazz that called him. Optimus didn't know what to say without raising more questions. He just stood there, waiting for things to go quiet. It finally calmed down, before he spoke, keeping his voice blank.

"Roxy is in the hospital. She has to go into emergency surgery for a burst appendix. Ratchet will update us on what is happening once he reaches the hospital." Again, more questions arose, and he didn't answer them. He couldn't, his cerebral processor could only think of the red headed teen that was in danger. The only thing that pained him more than her being hurt was when he couldn't do anything to help her.

The only thing he, if not the entire hanger could do, was wait.

X...meanwhile...X

Roxy held her stomach, lying on her back, staring at Ratchet's interior plating. There was a holo driving up front, a very basic human holo that looked very much like a store mannequin. The siren blared louder than any human creation could, the cars parting like water to let them by. Roxy was scared in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. She would have jumped if not for the pain when a man appeared on her right.

He looked to be in his mid fifties, and wore black, half rimmed glasses. He was pale, and had dark, experienced, blue eyes and wild, salt and pepper hair. "Ratchet?" she mumbled, eyes turning to the man. He said nothing for a few moments, before she felt static on her arm. It was like when you put your hand to a TV. Her hair stood on end, and she realized that the man was touching her. He was checking her pulse, then he let his other hand hover over her forehead. He frowned.

"Roxy, I need you to listen carefully. I, along with the other Autobots, can place our holo about 28 yards from the body's location, anywhere beyond that distance and the holo will faze out. Do you understand?" she heard him loud and clear. If he could only go a certain distance from his body, she would be alone in the hospital after a certain point.

Her pulse spiked, earning a tired sigh from Ratchet. "I won't leave you here. I will wait for you to be discharged and take you back to the base. Do you have the beacon?" She shook her head no. He frowned, pulled into the ambulance drop off, and the holo somehow wheeled her out into the hospital.

_...emergency...surgery... prep for an appendectomy...age seventeen... she's B positive... no prior medical... Forester...Roxy... _can you hear me?

Nothing but loud fragments until Ratchet asked her something. "I'm almost out of space. You know where I'll be...wait out in front-" He was cut off. He must've run out of room. She saw the holo pop out of site, and she turned her head to see the older man disappear around a corner.

She was alone in a hospital full of people she didn't know. She wanted to scream out, the pain coming back at full force. She felt a small pinch on her arm, and a mask was pulled over her nose and mouth. With every breath she took, the world melted away into a huge, black nothing.

Then, it was gone.

Lesson: The human body is unpredictable.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Oh my god that was fun to write! Once again, I'm holding the next chapter for a ransom of 5 reviews. Trust me, I could be asking for more, but I want to stay within reason.

Although, I have been known to be crazy at times... XD Read and Review!


	15. Lesson 15: Alone

Okay, this is more focused on Roxy than anything else. Grab a tissue for this! I had to, and I'm writing it! TT

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"Okay, is she under?" The surgeon asked one of the nurses. The nurse turned a nob, and nodded. Roxy was under the anesthesia, unaware of the world around her. She had an IV in one arm, and a mask over her face. One of the nurses placed some sterile fabric over the area of interest, a small square missing over a patch of skin.

"Okay. Procedure start : twelve twenty three A.M." He made an incision. The surgery began.

X...With Roxy...X

It was dark. Very dark, too dark to see anything. The world was gone from her sight, and she didn't like it. She needed to see where she was. She tried to move, but found she had no body. She was nothing in a sea of black. It was terrifying. She wanted to wake up from this place. This place where there was no light, no touch, no movement...

...and no music. She had to get out of there! Then, a light. Not very strong, but there, all around her. It was warm and glorious, almost like the sun. It was golden, just like the sun, so it had to be something. She wanted it grow stronger, like her home in Oregon. The light grew powerful and warm, as if her need for it was forcing it upon her. She felt her limbs tingle, then her torso.

She felt something on her back. It was soft, but scratchy, almost like...grass! She stretched out on what ever it was, and felt something rough and cool. She touched it, wonder and hope filling her. It was a tree, and by feel alone, she knew it was a powerful oak. But it wasn't just any oak. It was the oak she was in when she saw Optimus! The tree she sat in that first day, when he was injured by that 'tin man'.

She was done just feeling. She had to see this to know it was true. She opened her eyes, and looked up into a pure, sapphire sky. The trees framed her vision, their green leaves stretched into the air, longing for the sunlight. The many leaves of the oak, maple, birch, ash, walnut, elm, and mighty poplar stood in the world, showing just how strong they were. The sun was glowing, the breeze was warm, and the trees were in full swing.

Roxy was in Oregon. She was home.

X...Meanwhile...X

Ratchet sat in the ambulance parking lot, scanning the building for Roxy's bio signature. He found it in the depths of the building. There she was, out cold, surgeons prodding and slicing her open. He didn't know a time he wanted to perform surgery so much as right now. He decided that he should report what was going on.

"_Ratchet to Prime."_

"_What is it? Is Roxy alright?"_

"_She's in surgery at the moment. She should be out in a few minutes."_

"_...How long will you two be gone?"_

"_We should be back at the hanger by morning. It should be about six hours"_

"_Alright. Thank you Ratchet. Prime out."_ KSHSH!

Ratchet was left with his thoughts, and they bothered him. _Roxy needs to know what I know. She can't keep this hidden from the rest of us. Prime needs to know. He needs to know the truth. All of them do. The truth is the only thing that can help her._

But the truth wasn't going to be easy for any of them to handle. He had known for a long time, but that didn't make it easy.

_Being a medic never is._ He shifted on his shocks, and waited. These would be some of the longest six hours of his life.

X...back with Roxy...X

She ran at top speed, her bare feet thundering over the dirt. She let out a laugh, her body weightless with joy. Dream or not, she was happier now than she could remember. She knew the trails, and followed the one she had traveled many times before. The wide, worn, mech made path to the meeting place.

The place that the bots lived for that incredible year. There it was, just as green as she remembered it to be. The barren patches of earth the bots had made as their beds. The ash covered in poison ivy. The huge poplar that Optimus had to stretch to reach her. Even when she sat on it's lowest branch. The same poplar that he had been thrown into by the 'tin man'. It didn't even move when he was thrown. It even bore the scars of his bulk when he crashed into it.

But was _her_ mark still there? With a strange grace that she had always known as the 'climbers dance', she stalked up the tree. There was the lowest branch, and under neath it was...

_**PHEONIX**_

Ah, how hard it was to write that word upside down. But, she did it just before her mom uprooted her from paradise. She sat still on her branch, looking at all the places she had see from that spot. The creek that had flooded, the plateau that she did the Life speech on, the open meadow that she and Optimus had watched the life and death of a rabbit in, the house...

She shuddered at the thought of that place. That was the place where it happened. She looked away from the gray roof, and back out into her world. She closed her eyes, and smelled the air. She felt the wind blow her hair, and she smiled. A true, happy smile.

Then, the branch moved. Not much, just barely. Just enough for her to look over her shoulder. She saw nothing, and opted to climb down. She wanted to see the world she had to leave those many years ago.

Until the arms stopped her.

"Don't." was the simple, warm, raspy thing she heard. Her heart stopped. That voice, it couldn't be...

"Don't go, _chica_." No, it wasn't possible. "It has been too long." it couldn't be him. It couldn't be...

...Zeke.

"...your dead..." she whispered to him, feeling the tanned arms tighten around her middle.

"Ah, I know." he was always a man of few words.

"Zeke...how?" she choked out. The pain and confusion was almost too much.

Then she saw something silver flutter out of the corner of her eye.

"Wings, _chica._" he said softly. She put her arms on his, and leaned back onto his chest. He chuckled, and she felt his beard brush her cheek. His arms circled tighter, his voice now a low whisper. She felt his heartbeat in her back.

"...I'm sorry, _chica_. So sorry." he said in her ear. To her horror and relief, he knew. The wind blew again, his black hair floating into view.

"I know what things cannot be changed. And I know what things I cannot forgive." he said sadly.

"Zeke.." she mumbled.

"You don't have to fear what will come. You have the _ángeles de hierro_ to watch you."

"Zeke, please, I don't know-" one of his hands stroked her hair.

"Remember the wings? Some don't need them." he said, a smile in his voice.

She knew what he was saying now.

"You can trust them _chica._ You must follow what you feel. And you must always trust your _gaurdian de fuego_."

She froze. What did the phrase _gaurdian de fuego _even mean?

"Zeke, I can't remember your language." she said sadly. To her surprise, he chuckled.

"That's alright, _chica. _All you have to know, is that you are never alone." she felt him shift, and suddenly, she was in the air. She came to an incredible realization.

Zeke was flying, and he took her along!

"Do you like this?" he asked as they soared over the trees.

"Zeke, it's amazing!" she called out. The earth was so far away! She smiled in wonder,before the ground started to get closer to her feet. They were going to touch down in the field. The field that she fell off of Optimus in. The field itself was nothing more than an empty plain of grass. It was filled with deer beds, and Zeke landed in one of the larger ones. That was when she realized that the weren't in a deer bed.

They were in the the huge bot bed Optimus had made. The very one they had watched the night sky in.

"_Chica_, time is short." Zeke said softly behind her. She turned around to see the patient hispanic man that she had missed for so long. He was the closest thing she had known to be a father, and she hugged him. He stood a proud six feet even, with the same long black hair and stubble she remembered. He wore rimless glasses as always, and was in a simple white t-shirt and ripped blue jeans, making his athletic frame appear gaunt.

The only thing new about this man were the muscular, silvery wings that protruded from his shoulder blades.

"Oh my _poco un_. I have something important to tell you." he looked down at her, his eyes sad and proud. "No, you are not_ poco un_ any more. You are Roxy, and you have grown strong." He smiled at her, and hugged her tight. He pulled away, his face somber.

"Roxy, can you push the past aside and let _amor_ in?" he said, dark eyes locked on hers.

"...Zeke...I honestly don't know right now..."

"You will one day. You are loved, never forget that. _Le aman_." He hugged her one more time. "In order for you to wake up, you must go to sleep." He said.

"What? Oh, I get it." she lay down on her back, just like when she was on the gurney. Then, her head was lifted, and was placed on something warm and moving.

Zeke's chest. He chuckled at her as she nuzzled him. "I love you _chica_...and so does the _gaurdian de fuego... buenos noches chica..._"

Once again, the world was gone.

X...meanwhile...X

"Procedure end: twelve forty six A.M." The surgeon said. Roxy was wheeled into a room, still under the anesthesia. She would be awake in a few minutes. But until then, she would rest, unaware of the unbelievable chain of events that would occur.

Lesson: No one is alone.

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sniff that was hard to write. TT I hold the next chapter for the same ransom as always.

Please, R & R.


	16. Lesson 16: Dreams

As of this chapter, I am no longer asking for ransoms.

Okay, here we go again.

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"_So, is she out of surgery?"_

"_She's out and doing just fine."_

"_Alright. When should you two be back?"_

"_A few hours at the least. I'll call if there are any complications."_

"_Complications? What do you-"_

"_Goodnight Prime."_ KSHSH! Optimus sat on the floor, a frown crossing his metallic features. Was it so wrong that he wanted to know if Roxy was alright? Was it a bad thing that he wanted to know what was going on with her every single second of the day? Suddenly, he felt like a stalker. He lay down with a sigh and looked at the dull, speckled ceiling.

_'Hmm, I wonder how many dots are up there?'_ he asked himself. It reminded him of the question Roxy had asked a similar question about stars. They were in the field where the deer beds were. He thought they might have been tracks. He had joined the deer that night, and he and Roxy watched the night sky.

He had fun that night, seeing her smile at the sky. That was a long time ago, nine years almost. His frown deepened. That girl had been a huge part of their time on earth. The first human contact he and the bots had was with Roxy. They all had something they had done with her.

Ironhide had her toss water balloons for target practice, which in turn showed what interest she had in combat skills. Jazz had broadened her musical horizons and she broadened his. Although Jazz could never get her to like the Beach Boys. Bee learned about plant and animal life from her, and she got a good listener. Ratchet taught her the basics of cybertronian anatomy, and he got to study the human body first hand.

And he...

...made a friend. He felt more in his spark for her than mere friendship. But he wanted to wait until she was at what humans called 'The Age of Consent' before he told her anything.

_'I honestly don't know how she does it. But that girl has me.' _he thought to himself. He decided to try and recharge. If anything came up, Ratchet would tell him.

X...meanwhile...X

The world was coming back, slow though it was. Roxy was on a bed now, not a gurney. That was fine. She did however, miss her pillow. Zeke was a great pillow. Better than the foam rubber thing that smelled like sterility and lemons. She looked at the ceiling, dull and freckled. There were a lot of dots up there. She wasn't in the mood to count them though.

"Ah, I see someone's awake." Came a female voice. Roxy sat up abruptly, only to fall back due to the dull throb around her stitches. "Hehe, don't get too excited, you'll rip your stitches_._" Roxy took a breath, and slowly sat up. She stared at what was in front of her.

The woman was of obvious Hispanic heritage, and was sitting up, looking at Roxy with a clever fox-like gaze, and almost black-brown eyes. She was about Roxy's height, but was thicker, built tough. This woman also had shoulder length black hair, and her lips were tan with a touch of natural purple.

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly.

"Oh...uhm, I'm Roxy." she said quickly. The woman laughed lightly, smiling. "And you ma'am?"

"Oh, I'm Angel." She said. This woman was so friendly. "So Roxy, what are you in for?"

"Appendectomy. And you?" Angel's smile grew.

"New kidney."

"I'm sorry."

"Aww, don't be. I'll be out of here in a bit."

"Oh really?" Roxy asked, smiling at Angel.

"Yeah, I've been here a week, I'm heading out in a few minutes."

Roxy blinked. Most major surgeries took a day or so to heal up. Medical procedures had greatly advanced over the years, so it was a bit confusing. "Complications." Angel said, sensing the confusion in the red head. She was still smiling. Roxy looked at her, and a thought dawned on her.

"Uh, I was wondering... hehe...do you um, speak Spanish?" she was nervous. Just because Angel was Hispanic did not mean she new Spanish. Angel's smile grew.

"Sure, first language I knew. Why?"

"I heard some things in Spanish, but I have no clue what they mean." Roxy looked at her hands.

"Shoot." Angel said. Did that woman ever _not_ smile?

"Okay, _ángeles de hierro_?"

"Angels of iron. What else?"

"Um, _gaurdian de fuego_?"

"Guardian of Flames. Anything else?"

"No, that's it. Thanks a bunch though." _Well, Zeke, it seems you know the Primos family for what they really are, eh?_

"So where'd you here it?"

"Oh, just a dream. I was under the knife when I had it."

"Hmm, that happens a lot." Roxy smiled, and yawned. "Sleepy?"

"Yeah, how long was I out of it?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, an hour maybe. You should be out of here in a few hours."

"Really? How do you know?" she asked.

"I had the same surgery about a month ago. I was out in a few hours." She stood up from her cot, and grabbed what was apparently her purse. "Get some sleep silly." And with that, Angel left the room.

Roxy was alone. But she wasn't unhappy. She wanted time to think about what Zeke had said.

_'...can you push the past aside and let _amor_ in...You are loved, never forget that. _Le aman_...I love you _chica_...and so does the _gaurdian de fuego_...'_

"And so does the _gaurdian de fuego. _So, the guardian of fire is...who?" She asked the empty ceiling. Who did she know that had something to do with fire? Maybe Zeke meant...flames?

The only person she could think of was...

_'No, he can't love me. He just can't. I'm not...' _She was tired. She had to stop thinking. She had to sleep now. A nurse would come in to discharge her when she was ready.

So, until then, she would fall asleep to the smell of sterility and lemons. Roxy _hated _lemons.

Lesson : Don't be afraid to share your dreams.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

I want to thank kdzeal for helping me with this chapter.

Please R&R.


	17. Lesson 17: Medics

You know who I own.

I want to thank you all so much for your reviews. Hearing what you think really makes my day.

Be ready, it's about to get...dark...and short. Seriously, this is the shortest chapter in this story. But it is also one of, if not, the most important one.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Roxy sat on one of the benches outside of the hospital. She was still thinking about what happened while she was out of it. Zeke was holding her, his beard scratching her cheek. He was at full health, not the weak, dying man she had last seen. He was strong like she remembered. The kind, brilliant, raven haired Hispanic man she knew as her stepfather.

But in her eyes, he was her father. No other could ever claim that title.

Surgery in the year of 2013 had vastly improved compared to the past. A surgery that could take a few days to heal only took a day. Roxy was ecstatic. She would be going back to the hanger. She didn't see Ratchet, but he couldn't be far away. She noticed that someone was standing against the building, not really looking at anything. Roxy turned slightly to see black hair and tan skin.

"Angel?" she spoke softly. The woman turned to her, and it was indeed the woman that had shared rooms with her. The clever, almost black-brown eyes looked at her, a bright smile broke from the tan-purple lips, and the woman sat down next to her.

"Hey Roxy. You look great. Glad to be heading home?" Angel was so friendly, Roxy couldn't help but smile at the older woman. She wasn't much older than Roxy, maybe in her mid-twenties.

"Oh yes. I'm glad to see your doing better. How's your kidney?"

"Well, I'd say they're both great considering they each have a new room mate. " Roxy laughed. The stitches didn't even hurt considering they were no more than a synthetic flesh material. They were an amazing invention that healed along with the incision. No scars, faster healing time, what wasn't to like?

"So Angel, think we'll meet again?" The sun wasn't even up yet. Everything was quiet, even with the occasional siren. The January chill didn't even effect the two of them. It looked overcast, as if the moon were hiding behind a thick veil of smoke.

"I get the feeling we will." A red Camry pulled up, and Angel stood up. "Huh, good timing. Well, I'll see you around Roxy. Here, call me anytime." Angel handed Roxy a business card, and hopped in the car. As the car drove off, Roxy stared at the card, a surprised smile on her lips.

ANGEL COX.

ATTORNEY AT LAW.

Roxy placed the card in her pocket, and continued to wait for Ratchet. After a minute or so, an off-yellow emergency hummer pulled up to the bench, and the passenger door opened. The 'man' inside was giving her a slight smile, his salt & pepper hair as messy as ever. Ratchet looked like an overworked doctor that hadn't shaved in a few days. It suited him, from the black turtleneck to his name tag with the Autobot insignia. She climbed in, looking at him. He drove off, eyes never leaving the road. They sat in silence for several minutes, before Ratchet finally spoke.

"Roxy, we need to talk."

"What about Ratchet? Did I do something wrong?"

"No." _But someone sure fragging did._

"Then what is it?"

"I found something a few months ago that was...alarming to say the least."

"Is it lethal?" She knew what he was talking about,he could hear it in her voice. He waited a moment, and felt Roxy tighten her grip on his seat, her pulse racing in her finger tips.

_Please, don't say it. _

"Roxy, your hymen is broken."

Silence. Roxy let go of Ratchet's seat, and hung her head. Her voice was flat, emotionless as she spoke.

"How long have you known?"

Ratchet felt pain in his spark upon hearing her. "When Prime pulled you in after your period."

Then, a hollow, broken laugh. "I knew I couldn't hide it forever. But, it was worth a try, eh Doc?" Again with the hollow laugh, almost silent. He took a left, through a tree-laced road.

" The hanger is the other way." She said, voice empty.

"Your going to tell me what happened to you before Prime knows."

"So what? Your gonna tell him?"

"No, you are when we get back." No response. "That doesn't mean you have to tell him as soon as we get back. You can wait to tell him."

"... why postpone the inevitable?" _Why did I think I could hide it? _

"Why not." it was a statement. The holo gave her a concerned look. She was looking out the passenger-side window, face blank until she made up her mind. She turned to him, her vivid eyes sad and uneasy.

"Deal." He drove on. Down the tree laced road that led to the farmers market, the general store with the pay phone, and the hanger that was home to them.

Lesson: Medics can't fix everything.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Okay, if you haven't figured out Roxy's secret yet, (which I doubt) it'll be out chapter after next. X3

Remember to R&R!


	18. Lesson 18: Secret

Okay, you know who I own and don't.

Enjoy.

XxxxxxxxxX

Optimus was not a happy mech. Roxy had gone into surgery for her appendectomy. Why humans even had that stupid appendix was beyond him. He missed Roxy. The whole hanger knew it. But only one mech was making it hard to think of other things.

_**Such a lonely day  
And it's mine  
The most loneliest day of my life**_

Jazz had been tailing him for a good hour now, playing any song that he saw fit.

_  
**Such a lonely day  
Should be banned  
It's a day that I can't stand**  
_

Despite what he thought, the music wasn't helping. Hell, Jazz may have been doing it to annoy him.

_  
**The most loneliest day of my life  
The most loneliest day of my life**  
_

If so, it was working. Very, very well.

_  
**Such a lonely day  
Shouldn't exist  
It's a day that I'll never miss  
**_

"You'd think they could use proper English." He growled. SOAD wasn't one of his favorite bands. He was more of a Coldplay kind of mech.

_  
**Such a lonely day  
And it's mine  
The most loneliest day of my life**  
_

"Jazz..." the song kept playing. "Jazz..."

_**  
****And if you go  
I wanna go with you**  
**And if you die  
I wanna die with you**_

Optimus was twice the height of Jazz, and could easily send the mech sailing across the hanger. He wouldn't actually do it, but at the moment he sure wanted to. Jazz knew this, which made it all the more fun. He was turned up the, and it was starting to... what did humans call it... oh right, piss him off.

_**Take your hand  
And walk away**_

Optimus turned and placed his hand on Jazz' head, and the music stopped dead. Being reminded of his height was one thing. But to _physically_ remind him was like waving a steak in front of a starving wolf. Stupid and would most likely bring injury.

_**MAYBE I'M THE ONE  
MAYBE I'M THE ONE  
WHO IS…  
THE SCHIZOPHRENIC PSYCHO… YEAH**_

MAYBE I'M THE ONE  
MAYBE I'M THE ONE  
WHO IS…  
THE PARANOID FLAKE-OH… YEAH

Optimus noticeably winced at the assault on his audio-receptors. Jazz picked a different song as Prime walked back to his quarters.

_**She Loves You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah  
She Loves You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah  
She Loves You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah**_

Optimus breathed an exasperated sigh. His second on command could annoy anyone. Jazz could also read anyone, whoever they were.

_  
**You Think You´ve Lost Your Love  
Well I Saw Her Yesterday  
It´s You She´s Thinking Of  
And She Told Me What To Say**_

She Says She Loves You  
And You Know That Can´t Be Bad  
She Loves You  
And You Know You Should Be Glad

"Either prove it or mute it." Prime snapped. Jazz suddenly stopped, and now a loud, angry song poured out of his speakers. He started to wave his arms to the beat, which just aggravated Optimus further.

_**Everybody  
Put up your hands say:  
"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"  
Feel the beat now  
If you've got nothing left say:  
"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"  
Back it up now  
You've got a reason to live say:  
"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"  
Feeling good now  
Don't be afraid to get down say:  
"I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love"**_

Optimus spun around and looked at his half pint lieutenant, anger lacing his voice."Fine Jazz, you really want know how I feel about Roxy? I love her, okay? I'm in love with that girl and I don't slagging care about the human law of 18 and over. I love her now will you _please_ **mute** **it**?!" Jazz paused his loud anti-love ballad, and stood still. "Jazz?"

_**How lucky can one guy be?**_

"Jazz..." He threatened halfheartedly. He was actually glad that Jazz knew. Why his second in command was playing Dean Martin music was another matter.

_  
**I kissed her and she kissed me.  
Like a fella once said:  
"Ain't that a kick in the head?"**  
_

Optimus simply watched as Jazz danced to the music in a cancan like manner. He smiled.

_  
**The room was completely black,  
I hugged her and she hugged back.  
Like a sailor said quote:  
"Ain't that a hole in a boat?"**  
_

Prime couldn't help but laugh. Jazz could bring light to any situation.

_  
**My head keeps spinnin',  
I go to sleep and keep grinnin'  
If this is just the beginnin'  
My life is gonna be beautiful.**_

I've sunshine enough to spread,

"I sure do." Prime said as Jazz continued.

_  
**It's just like the fella said.  
Tell me quick,  
ain't love a kick in the head?**_

Like the fella once said:  
**"Ain't that a kick in the head?"**

**Like the sailor said quote:**  
**"Ain't that a hole in a boat?"**

My head keeps spinnin',  
I go to sleep and keep grinnin'  
If this is just the beginnin'  
My life is gonna be beautiful.

**She's telling me we'll be wed,  
She's picked out a king size bed,  
I couldn't feel any better or I'd be sick.**

Tell me quick,  
Oh, ain't love a kick...?  
Tell me quick,  
ain't love a kick in the head?

"Yes, it sure is." Jazz hopped on one foot out of the room.

"Hey Ratch! 'bout time ya got back!" Jazz said, a smile evident in his voice. He sounded far away, so he must have been outside of the hanger. Optimus walked out to meet the medic, seeing Roxy looking up at Jazz. He could tell something was off. Very off.

"Hello Roxy. I assume the surgery went well?" He leaned down to get a better look at her, then he noticed the look in her eyes. She wouldn't look at him for some reason.

"Yeah, it went fine." In the back of her mind, she remembered what Zeke had said.

"_...I'm sorry, _chica_. So sorry... you have the _ángeles de hierro_ to watch you ...remember the wings...some don't need them...trust them _chica_...trust your _gaurdian de fuego_... "_

"But... I need to talk to you. It's...kinda private though, so uh..." Optimus picked her up in one hand, the sun's scant morning light hidden behind a veil of clouds. He felt something bad in the depths of his spark. Roxy held onto his thumb tighter than usual, and the longer he held her, the worse the feeling seemed to be. He turned his head to Jazz, who merely shrugged. If he could see past the visor, he would see the unwanted knowledge hidden behind it.

Ratchet stared at Roxy, who looked back at him with pain in her eyes. Ratchet nodded, and the two disappeared into the woods. Jazz and Ratchet were left to stare at each other.

"Guess you know it too, huh Ratch?" Jazz said in a level tone. Ratchet glared at the charcoal bot.

"That depends on what you mean by 'it', Jazz." He turned to the hanger, when a four fingered hand grabbed his wrist.

"Don't you pull that shit on me Ratch. I know that you know what 'it' is." Ratchet turned and pulled away from Jazz, grabbing his arm in a vice grip.

"You are pit slaggin' right I know. But that doesn't mean we tell the others yet." Jazz tilted his head.

"_Yet_? Whadaya mean _yet_?" he seemed angry, not something that was normal for the lieutenant.

Ratchet let go of Jazz, and frowned, sadness in his optics. "What I mean by _yet_ is that Roxy asked me to tell the others after she tells Prime."

Jazz seemed to be looking at the ground, but the visor made it impossible to tell. Then he spoke, not looking up at the medic.

"Fine, tell who ya want, but I gotta do Bee, okay?" Ratchet placed a hand on Jazz' shoulder.

"Alright..." Ratchet's frown deepened. "You get the Lennox's and Witwiky's, too. I'll get the twins, Barricade, and Ironhide. That fit you?" Jazz gave a strained nod.

"Good." Ratchet removed his hand and went inside the hanger. How in the pit could the medic talk about it without losing his composure?

Jazz knew that whoever heard it, they wouldn't take it well. Everyone had a connection to the red head, be that connection with human, mech, or furball. He read between the lines, which was all well and good in battle, but when you're dealing with your comrades, it was different. The way they felt towards Roxy ranged everywhere from 'Little Sister' to 'The one I love'. Sure, they all cherished Roxy, but Optimus was the one that actually said he _loved_ her.

That meant something. And that something could break or enrage Prime's spark. That alone made him pray that Prime could handle it.

And Jazz knew that neither outcome would end well.

Lesson: Nothing stays secret for ever.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ratchet knows what happened and who did it, Jazz figured it out on his own. If you followed the clues,

you'd know too.

But who cares! The secret is in the next chapter! R&R!


	19. Lesson 19: Truth

You know who I own. I recommend that you listen to 'Fix You' by Coldplay while reading this to get the full effect.

Brace yourselves.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Optimus tried to ignore the feeling in his spark that told him something was wrong. But his spark wasn't something that liked being ignored. So when he walked into the woods surrounding the hanger with Roxy in hand, he knew something was wrong. He couldn't remember her holding onto him this tight before. He could feel her pulse race under her pale skin.

He stopped once he knew they were far enough from the hanger to keep what she wanted to tell him private. He looked about, and found a place to sit down. He looked down at her, and she looked back up at him. "What is it that you need to tell me?" he asked quietly. She looked at her hands, and back at him.

"Uh...l-let me think for a minute, okay?" she took a deep breath, and she felt a metal finger rub her back. _I can't go back now. _She released the breath, and looked at the ground.

"Prime, do you remember when I told you when I attacked Kale?" He nodded, a bit confused. "And what I said about that? I had said that I attacked him for reasons unknown." He tilted his head as if asking her to continue. "I meant...I meant reasons unknown to you." the rest of it came out as a blurb, and it was a wonder how he knew what she was saying.

"Before Zeke died, we learned that Kale was a junkie, and he was using his money for his habit. Zeke left a lot of his money with me, a-and Kale didn't get much..." she didn't realize that she was rocking until something hooked her shoulder. She looked up at Optimus, who looked back with genuine concern. She swallowed and continued.

"...he wanted money, and he did some sick things to get it. It wound up with him getting arrested for a botched mugging. He kept shooting up, mom was drinking, a-and there was nothing I could do to help. Mom would yell when I told her to get help. Kale was getting heavy into stuff. He knew that I had the pass code to Zeke's account. He threatened me a-a few years ago. I was twelve, how could I have had it? He kept hitting me, a-and I couldn't hold him off..." She stopped, taking in a few breaths. She felt the air change, as if the temperature had risen. Maybe it was her, or then again, it could have been Optimus. She didn't know for sure as her heart thundered in her chest.

"That...bastard...he...he..." she had to draw another few breaths. She didn't want to cry. Not in front of

Optimus. He remained silent, watching her with calm, if not worried, optics. She couldn't look at him, she felt sick. She drew in another breath, and with her heart in her throat, she said what she had kept secret for so long.

"Kale raped me..." her voice cracked, and she held her head in her hands, fear lurching in her stomach. What would Prime do? Put her down? Stare at her? Think she a whore? Primus forbid he do that! She felt so sick, but she was doing all she could not to start crying. She already felt dirty, she didn't want to look stupid. _I won't blame him if he drops me, I wouldn't want to touch me either._

The world was moving, and she was brought to something cool and familiar. Something red and blue with a distant humming. Prime's chestplate. She slipped down into his palm, everything in her broken. She couldn't hold back anymore, and started sobbing. The secret that had been hurting her for such a long time had finally broken her. But deep down, past the terrified, sobbing mess, some small part of her knew that she could be fixed.

Optimus felt so much in his spark for this girl, and it infuriated him to know that someone would sink that low. Rape was different for humans than it was for his kind. Humans were fragile in body and mind, and to have something like that happen to someone like Roxy...

Anger flared in his spark and died down to a fiery ember. He couldn't get angry, at least not right now. Not when Roxy needed him the most. He couldn't think of anything to say, not that it would help. He just held her in his hand, enclosing her in his powerful metal fingers. She was shaking hard, her hands coming off her head to wrap around her chest. He stroked her side with his thumb, optics lit with sadness and anger. He remained there with her, waiting for her to calm down.

After what seemed like an eternity, her cries were finally quiet, and her drained body slipped into sleep. He lifted her to his spark, looking down at her. He released a quiet sigh, and slowly walked back to the hanger.

The sun had risen into a silver sky, nothing more than a silver disc in the air. Optimus stepped out of the woods, and was met with the familiar off-yellow CMO. Ratchet looked at Prime, then Roxy. His shoulders sagged a bit when he saw her.

"Now you know the truth Prime." He said softly, optics bright against the overcast sky and dingy hanger. "Stay with her, and keep the others away when she's near you."

"What are you going to do Ratchet?" He asked, being just as quiet. Ratchet looked at him over his shoulder.

"Tell the others. Prime... I spoke to Roxy before we came back. She told me everything. She asked me to tell the others after you knew." he frowned and turned back to him. "And now, you do." The mech continued on with what he had been asked to do. Optimus looked at the gray sky, and walked past the hanger, to the edge of the woods. There was a large oak that had died a long time ago, before the bots took the hanger. It's bark was pale and it stood strong.

He sat under it, still holding Roxy in his hand. He crossed his arms, and rested her in the crook of his elbow. He touched her hair, and looked up at the sky, his focus on the silver disc. _'Why?' _He asked it solemnly.

But the sun had no answer to give him.

Lesson: The truth isn't always a good thing.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Let me explain something here. Rape is not an act of sexual satisfaction. Rape is done as an act of dominance and control. I have put a lot of time into this story to get the facts right on this. So please do correct me if I'm wrong.

Please read and review.


	20. Lesson 20: 'Ways'

You know who I own.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sleep held salvation if nothing else. Optimus had to acknowledge that. The red head in his arms had been asleep for a good hour now, away from the world she knew. The sun had risen high into the sky, but it was trapped behind the silver clouds. He looked down at Roxy, sorrow in his optics.

"Optimus." He looked up to see Jazz standing in front of him, frowning.

"Jazz..." he said quietly. The lieutenant looked down at Roxy.

"Aw Red..." he shook his head, balling his fists. "Man, it ain't right." was all he said. Optimus gave a grim nod, and looked back down at Roxy. She had curled into the fetal position, facing him.

"Has Ratchet told you yet?" Jazz shook his head.

"...I figured it out on my own. Just wanted Ratchet to confirm it 'for I said anything." He looked at Optimus, trying to stay calm. "Ratchet's gonna tell the others in a while. Wants ta figure out how. I don' blame 'im, it's not everyday that this kinda shit happens." He looked away from Optimus and at the hanger. "...I'll see ya in a while Prime... I'm the one that's...gotta tell Bee." He walked away. Optimus stared after the lieutenant, then once more at Roxy.

_'You lied Roxy...'_ he thought sadly. _'You said not long ago that I didn't make a mistake when I left you...'_ he carefully reached down and touched Roxy's hair. _'...but I did...'_ His comlink went off, and he answered it with silence.

"_Be ready."_ was all that Jazz said before a police car tore out of the hanger, reaching speeds no earth car could and barreled out of site, kicking up dust as he went. Optimus snapped his head back around when he heard cannons fire off and saw Ironhide sprint out of the new whole, screaming swears and shooting trees as he went. Then the twins went out of the hanger door, Sunny looking about ready to explode. He leaned his head back to see Ratchet disappear into the medbay, and Jazz was getting a bear hug from Bumblebee.

_'We all have different ways of handling this, I suppose...'_ he slightly tightened his hold on Roxy.

**X...Barricade...X**

He didn't care that he was breaking the speed limit. He didn't care that he was endangering everything that could be on the road. He didn't care that at the speed he was going could send him into stasis lock if he hit something solid. He was so slagging pissed...

Barricade didn't care about anything at the time except for the young female known as Roxy.

He didn't know when it happened. He didn't know why he felt it. But somewhere, sometime, when he was in the hanger, he fell for that bemused red haired girl.

And he fell _**hard**_.

**X...Ironhide...X**

"THAT PIT-SPAWN SLAGTARD!" Left cannon to a fir tree.

"THAT STUPID GLITCH!" Right hand to an oak.

"STUPID AFT FRAGGER!" Down went a young elm.

Anger didn't even begin to describe what Ironhide felt. Rage, not quite it. Fury wasn't it either.

The only thing that could describe what he felt was...hurt.

There was nothing he or anyone could have done to predict or prevent what happened.

He punched a maple, and sent the top half flying several yards away.

True, shooting and killing the trees wouldn't change any of that...

...but it was making _him_ feel better.

**X...the twins...X**

"I still don't see why _your_ upset..." The crimson twin asked his pacing brother.

"Slag it to pit Sideswipe! Of course I'm upset!"

"So am I, but it's just that you-"

"I know! She pisses me off, but that doesn't make it okay! "

"Of course it doesn't make it okay. But..."

"BUT WHAT!?" the golden twin practically screamed.

"...it's just that yesterday you were calling Roxy a stupid glitch and-"

"She _**is**_ a stupid glitch! But she's _**our**_ stupid glitch!" They both stared.

The greatest thing about being twins was that one of you was always good for a hug.

**X...Jazz and Bee...X**

There was nothing they could say to one another to try and fix what happened. They both knew it couldn't be changed, and that was hard to except.

Jazz hadn't really been hugged by Bee before, and he really wasn't that surprised with the bear hug he was getting. Maybe Bee wasn't expecting to get a hug back. Hey, he may have been the Jazz Man, but he wanted a hug once in a while. And Bee sure could hug.

Bee knew that he had Jazz, and Jazz knew that he had Bee. That was all they needed for now.

**X...Ratchet...X**

He was a medic. It was natural for him to see terrible things and not be effected by them. With his job, he had to be a stoic, blunt mech. But there were ways to tell when he was upset. He would organize. And depending on how it effected him, he would do more organization. It could be anything from moving the table to alphabetizing his soldering irons.

But anyone new that what happened to Roxy hit him hard. It had been a long time since Ratchet had cleaned, labeled, and organized the medbay three times in one hour.

**X...Normal...X**

Optimus was staring out at the gray sky, not thinking of anything in particular. He would try to think of something other than what happened for the sake of Roxy. She had always been keen on when they were upset, and he was trying very hard not to lose his temper. Curse that pitspawn human called Kale to the depths of space! Despite the way he was portrayed, he had a temper. And it was _not_ something he wanted out and rampaging. Not with Roxy around.

He could feel Roxy moving down at his side, and he looked down. She opened her eyes and looked around a bit. Then she looked up at him, and she looked away just as fast. He watched her eyes stare at the tracks left by the bots. Barricade's racing onto the road, Sunny's stomping out of sight, the hole that Ironhide made in the hanger, Bee and Jazz...

"...I didn't want this." She said quietly. Optimus cocked his head. "I never wanted to hurt anyone. I should have stayed quiet..." she grabbed her knees, and hid her face. She felt a hand wrap around her, and she was raised into the air, and she looked up to meet cobalt optics.

"It wasn't your fault. Never think that, never believe it. You aren't the one that is hurting them." _'He is.' _He said rather sternly.

"Don't lie to me." He heard her voice crack.

"I'm not lying to you." His voice had risen a bit, and he brought it back down."I could never do that."

"I hate to see you hurt." She bit her tongue, and crossed her arms to cover her eyes. She was hurt, she wanted the pain to end. She was lifted higher and felt something press into her stomach. She realized that Optimus had the end of his nose pressed into her. She rested against him, breathing slowly to try and maintain what calmness she had left. "So I am going to do all I can...to make you well." he pulled her back and looked at her. He smiled gently. "And the first step..." he stood cautiously, "Is for you to eat something."

"My eating habits are always on your mind, aren't they?" She said.

"Why should they not be?" He asked calmly. She smiled, and Optimus set her on the deck. "I'll wait until you're done." He stepped back and shifted, resting on his wheels. Roxy went inside. Sam was the only one around, and before she could do anything, Sam had a plate on the table.

"Hungry?" he asked. _'You know, don't you Sam?'_ she thought to herself. Just the way he walked said that Jazz had somehow told them. The bots could use their comlinks on phone lines if needed. "Have a seat, I made a sandwich." Sam set it down in front of her.

"What's in it?" she asked, not sure what she was about to eat.

"A lot. But don't worry, it's vegan." He turned around and opened the fridge. "What do you want to drink?"

"Uh..water's fine." She sat down carefully. She wasn't too sure where the others had bounded off to. But Sam was safe, they were all safe, but...

Sam set the glass in front of her. Roxy smiled, and took a bite of the sandwich. Whatever was in it, it was good. She had it down in a few minutes, not noticing Sam's tense gaze.

"That was a good sandwich. I think it had avocado in it."

"Roxy..."

"I liked the sandwich Sam, it wasn't any trouble was it?"

"Roxy-"

"Well I hate to eat and run, but Optimus is waiting and-"

"Roxanna!" That got her to clam up. "Look, I know you hate it when People call you your full name. I got in Primes face when he called me Samuel James Witwiky." She snorted, and he nodded with a smirk. "But you were about to start ranting about a sandwich. And there's one more thing." He bent down and looked her in the eyes. "You've been avoiding eye contact with me. I gotta know-"

"Eyes." she blurted out.

"Uh...what?" He asked her quietly. He blinked, and she flinched.

"You...you have his eyes. Kales eyes were dark and uh...ah..." she looked away, her hands shaking. Sam backed off, and stood there for a minute. He then turned around and started cleaning up. He took the plate and glass and started to clean them off. Roxy had no clue what Sam was thinking.

"So...that's it? Nothing else?" he asked, back to her.

"No, Sam, nothing else with you." Sam turned.

"Who else?"

"Will. I don't know why..."

"Maybe it's just men in general. It's normal."

"How could you know what's normal for me?" Sam turned back around, and put the plate and glass away.

"...My older cousin was in college when she was attacked..." Roxy stared, not sure where he was going. "...she had a lab partner who didn't know what she meant by 'I hate you, leave me alone.'..." He turned back to her, leaning on the counter. "She got him convicted, and she was better but not the same. She was scared to give her little cousin a hug. And by little, I mean I was fifteen. I may not know _your_ normal, but I know _her_ normal. And that's close enough for me." Sam turned again and washed his hands.

"What should I do?" She said. Sam turned, a bit shocked.

"You're asking me?" Roxy nodded. "Well, my cousin had enough evidence to convict that freak. Do you have anything on Kale?"

Roxy nodded again. "A lot. A whole lot. He didn't think a twelve year old would keep evidence."

"You were _**twelve**_?!" Sam yelled. Roxy jumped in her seat. "Jazz didn't say that you were twelve! My god!" Sam started to scrub his hands. Roxy was nervous. A bot yelling was one thing, but a human...a human could do more than yell.

"I met a lawyer in the hospital!" Sam paused his scrubbing. "She gave me her card. She seemed really nice and she said to call her any time and..." Sam rinsed his hands, and shut off the water.

"Well then, uh, if you think she can help you...give her a call." Sam said, drying his hands. Roxy looked at the back of his head, and looked at the phone. She didn't feel her feet move as she walked to the phone, and she didn't feel her fingertips tap in the phone number. She wasn't aware of anything until she heard,

"Hello, you have reached the law offices of Guardian & Angel. This is Angel Cox speaking." The voice seemed practiced, not like the happy woman Roxy had met in her hospital room. She didn't realize she was talking until after she spoke.

"Angel? It's me, Roxy...I...uh...I need to talk to you..."

Lesson: Everyone has they're ways.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

People, we have five chapters to go. DON'T PANIC! I have a _**big**_ idea for a sequel, but don't expect it to be out for a while, k?

R&R!


	21. Lesson 21: Law

You know who I own. The song used is 'Mississippi' by Train. It is a beautiful song to me.

Prepare for warm fuzzies!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"_You need to get evidence hun."_

"What kind?"

"_Anything you can get. Do you need any help getting it?"_

"I have a lot on this guy."

"_Okay. Call me when your done."_

That was what Angel had said. 'Get Evidence.' This meant that Roxy had to go back to the house in Phoenix. And Optimus was going to go with her. He didn't want her to go alone,-not that she would be alone with any Autobot- so he went with her. He knew the way, and he didn't want her out of sight.

Optimus had modified his hologram a bit. He still had the scar, tank top, the boots and the pants. But he had added about ten inches to his height, making him a brawny 6'7. He also had a clean mustache and a more pronounced tattoo. They had left shortly after the phone call ended. Roxy sat in the passengers seat, and had put the seatbelt on herself. She wasn't showing it, but her bio-signature showed she was anxious. Her temperature was low, and she was tired. She would refuse to sleep when Optimus would tell her too. She would tap her foot or finger to stay up. It was troubling to say the least.

Optimus couldn't help but worry about her. He loved that girl. He hadn't told her yet, seeing as she wouldn't be eighteen for a month or two. He didn't want to wait, but he had to. True, he had said he didn't care about the laws, but Roxy was friends with a lawyer. He didn't want to risk anything. That, and, Roxy may not be interested in any type of relationship at the moment.

So, he would have to wait. As he pulled into the gravel driveway, he looked at her. She had this look on her face that made his spark ache. She looked tired and angry. No, not angry, more like...hell-bent. Her eyes were red from staying awake so long. It was a day's ride to get there, and she hadn't slept a bit. _'You were never meant to have red eyes Roxy. ' _He put himself into park, and idled in the driveway.

"Are you ready Roxy?" he asked with the holo.

She looked at him, unbuckling herself. "Are you?" The doors opened, and the two stepped out. Roxy looked around her, a frown on her face. She looked up at the holo, who looked down at her. She walked up the gravel walkway, and kicked over a rock. She then walked up to the door, and felt around the porch light. She bent down, and reached under the door mat, and Optimus tilted his head.

"Roxy, what are you doing?" He asked from behind her. She looked at him, and then pulled out a grimy key. She put it in the key hole in the door, and opened it.

"Key Prime." She stepped inside, looking around the dark house. "Well, come in." He did, a bit uncertain. What if Susan was home? He looked around in the dark, his holo giving of a very light glow. His eyes glowed brighter than the rest of him, so a dark room gave him a rather ghostly look. If Susan saw him, she may panic. He didn't like Susan, but he didn't want to frighten her.

Roxy held her arm out, and the holo bumped it. "Prime, can your holo smell?" It could, but it didn't need to. He could smell the awful stench of liquor. Not far from the smell was a woman with strawberry blond hair, pale skin, and freckles. It was Susan. Optimus backed up a bit, And Roxy turned to look at him. Roxy put her hands out in front of her, and quickly brought them together in a loud clap. Susan didn't budge. Roxy frowned at her mother, and looked at the coffee table. She gave an irritated sigh.

"Don't worry, she's out of it." Roxy said, picking up the empty tequila bottle and showing it to him. His eyes narrowed. As if to prove her point, she grabbed Susan's arm, lifted it in the air, and let it drop with a rather nasty smack. She turned back to Prime, a frown on her face. "And she thought _I_ needed help." She kept walking, and the holo followed.

"Roxy, I understand your anger toward your mother. No one should be locked up." He watched the back of her head as they went up the stairs. "But you can forgive her."

"But I can't forget." she turned to him, giving him a rather familiar look. He couldn't place it right away... he remembered that look. It was the look she gave him on new years eve. "I can't forget what she did to me. And if you were locked in a tiny room and fed when your captor remembered, would you forgive them?" The holo blinked. "Of course, look who I'm talking to. Mister humanitarian." He frowned.

"You aren't mad at me, and we both know it. Your venting." She kept walking, not looking back at him. He followed, and soon they came upon a rather banged up door. Prime looked at the latch, and saw something that angered him in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. A padlock. Why would there be a padlock on a bedroom door?

"Want to see my home for the last four years?" Roxy said darkly. She pushed open the door, and stepped inside. A twin bed and a closet. That was it. That was her room.

"..." Prime had seen her room from the outside, but seeing it at a human angle was different. It was no wonder she hated it. The paint was faded from white to a dull gray. The ceiling was cracked. Everything about it screamed 'This Is Hell' to him, and the holo clenched it's fists, anger evident on it's features. He had to stay calm.

Roxy leaned down and reached under the bed. She pulled out a lock box, a deadbolt keeping it closed tight. She set it on the bed, and walked to the closet. Roxy stood on her toes and felt with the tips of her fingers the top of the molding. She took down a key, and placed it in the lock, but didn't unlock it.

"Everything we need is in here." She said, tucking the box under one arm. "Lets go." She went past the holo, and he stared after her. How could the contents of of simple, and small, lock box be the things to take down that man?

They walked past Roxy's mother, who was still out of it, and exited the house. They walked back to his body, and Roxy opened the passenger door and tossed the box inside. It bounced a bit as it hit the seat. The holo was still behind her, but it didn't shut down right away. He stepped behind her, and she turned around to look at him. Optimus placed the holo's hands on her shoulders, Roxy looking up at him.

He pulled her into a hug. True, the holo couldn't do much, but it could move things, see things, say things. It was limited though. The holo had a very limited range when it came to touch and feeling. The more it did, the less distance it could travel. The closer it was to the body, the more it could do. It was an amazing thing, and Roxy seemed to appreciate the hug. He wasn't expecting her to hug back. He was only a yard from his body, so he was as solid as an actual human.

"You look tired Roxy. Why don't you take a rest." He pulled back and looked at her, she looked so tired. She climbed into him, and set the box on the floor. He closed the door, and he got in. She was still sitting up. _'I think I know something that'll help her sleep...' _He searched the airwaves, and played a song he remembered her saying she loved a long time ago.

_**They call her Mississippi**_

_**But she don't flow to me**_

_**Spends her light on the Bayou**_

_**But she don't come to see**_

She laid down across the seat, her head on the leather. He looked at her, a smile spreading across his mouth. He turned the volume down a bit, and he drove off.

_**She's the one that makes my dreams**_

_**They call her Mississippi**_

_**But she don't flow to me **_

_'I hope you sleep well Roxy.' _He thought to himself, looking back at the road. The sun had gone down long ago, and he was happy she was finally resting.

_**The shape of her horizon**_

_**Makes the morning sun**_

_**When she puts her eyes on**_

_**Each and anyone**_

_**She's the one that makes me fall**_

_**Midnight moon shines through it all **_

He felt something touch his leg, and he looked down in pure surprise. Roxy had moved her head to rest on his thigh. He felt his spark heat, his smile growing at such an unexpected movement. He had thought that with human anatomy and such, she wouldn't do something so...bold. But then again, his holo wasn't human.

_**She's the one that makes me fall**_

_**Midnight moon shines through it all**_

_**She's the one that makes my dreams**_

_**They call her Mississippi**_

_**But she don't flow to me**_

He carefully placed his arm over her shoulder, and let his fingers fiddle with the ends of her hair. She snuggled into his waist, and fell asleep. Maybe Roxy was more ready than he had thought. Maybe, more likely, she wanted a pillow.

_**They call her Mississippi**_

_**But she don't flow to me**_

Lesson: The law can be a bitch.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ok, the next few chapters will take a bit to get ready, so be a little patient, k?

Kale is in the next chapter!


	22. Lesson 22: Mess

I'm SOOOO sorry! School started, and I haven't had _any_ time for my stuff!

You know who I own. Here comes Kale!

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Roxy wasn't scared. She was pumped. Angel had called her and said the contents of the box were more than enough to take Kale down. So, the group rolled out to the courthouse, getting as close as they could so that the holos could be used.

The first ones to pull up were the Twins. Their holos looked similar, accept that Sunny had blond streaks in his ear-length hair and Sides had a single red streak in his. They each stood about 5'8" give or take a bit. Sunny had a pierced eyebrow, while Sides had a pierced lower lip. They both looked to be in their mid twenties, and also pretty bad ass.

Next came an off-yellow Hummer and a black Topkick. The holo of the Topkick stepped out, and looked much like a UFC fighter. He wasn't tall, but he was heavily built. He had dark brown hair cut like that of a Navy Seal. He also had an _oroborus_ tattoo with the Autobot insignia inside of it on his right shoulder in jet black. The gray-haired man from the Hummer stayed inside, as a yellow Camero and a charcoal BMW pulled up.

The Camero let his charge step out, and Sam ran his hand over the black stripe. Mikela and Spike, their still young baby, had stayed home. Roxy didn't want Mikela to be there because she thought it would be too much stress. Not just on Mikela, but on herself. She had grown attached to the older woman, and the same was for her. She didn't want Mikela to see the contents of the lockbox.

Once Sam was out of site, and a flame painted semi rolled into view, from the depths of the Camero came the lines, _**'...And I won't think twice to stick that barrel straight down sancho's throat Believe me when I say that I got something for his punk ass!' **_

The BMW next to him growled. "Bee, ya know we can't touch that bastard no mattah how bad we wanna." Jazz' holo said, thumping the Camero's hood with a fist. Bee's holo stepped out, angry.

"We _know_ he did it. I know we don't hurt organics but..." he looked at the semi behind him. "...can't he make an exception?" Jazz gave Bee an understanding smile.

"Man, you don' know how bad I wan' him ta do that. But it ain't our world, so we play by their rules."

"However stupid they are." Bee mumbled. A moment later, a saleen mustang pulled up to the courthouse, a mustached officer stepping out. "And where the frag have you been?" Barricade's holo smirked.

"That's none of your business." He turned and walked into the courthouse.

Roxy stepped out of the cab, a bit wobbly. She looked at the courthouse, and saw a man with dark brown eyes and black hair talking to a woman with strawberry blond hair and pale skin. The woman was shaking her head, and the man was nodding. As soon as Roxy saw Kale talking to her mother, her pale skin turned white, and she leaned back onto the semi.

"Prime..." The holo looked down at her, seeing her shake a bit. "I don't think I can do this...I mean, he's probably convinced my mom that I'm lying. He did that all the time back home, he could still be doing it now! After what he did to me, what'll he do to her if he gets off!?" He steadied her, anger starting to curl in his spark, threatening to rise.

"You once told me that all things have there ways. You have to wait and see how she will react to her stepson is a m- rapist." He cut himself off. No human was a monster, he knew that. But when he looked at that man, he didn't see a human. He saw something he never thought he would see in such a race. Something dangerous and cruel...

When he looked at Kale, he saw a Decepticon. And he knew what a Con would have coming if it did such a thing as this.

The anger flared. Roxy backed up a bit, and barked, "Stop it!" His anger dropped out of him, hitting the ground. Roxy blinked, and grabbed the holo's hand. "I know what you feel. Everything about your kinds emotional state I can read just by being near you. It's all temperature with you guys, so I know you're pissed off. Don't act so damn calm." She squeezed his hand. "I can tell with even the Great Optimus Prime." She said, trying to lighten the air.

"Since when am I so great?" She smiled, though it was hard to see.

"Since I've known you." He squeezed her hand, and walked into the court house. The others had already gone inside, the Autobots sitting in the back. The holo let go of Roxy's hand and sat down. Roxy peered back at him. He smiled and gave a nod. Roxy looked at Kale's side of the courtroom, and felt her heart ache to see her mother on his side. _'I see where you stand. A rapist over your own flesh? You damn drunk, don't come to _me_ for a liver.' _She thought bitterly, taking her seat next to Angel.

_'You can do this Roxy. We're here.'_ Prime thought.

Barricade's holo was standing by the judges chambers, and he said. "All rise for Judge Jessica Casper." Everyone stood, and an older, blond female stepped out in a black robe. She took her seat. And so, the case began.

X...later...X

Kale's lawyer, Conrad P. Jacobs, wasn't a nice man. He was a balding man with a fancy suit and a sharp tongue. He walked like he had a bad leg and talked down to people who weren't potential clients. But Roxy didn't really care if he had a bad leg or a peg leg or even a deer leg. All she wanted to do was to get off the stand. They were all staring at her.

"So, Miss Forester, when and where did this supposed 'rape' happen?" Conrad asked. Roxy glared at him, but answered in an even tone.

"In my bedroom at our old house in Oregon. I was twelve, and my mom wasn't home."

"I see. Now, do you know why Kale 'raped' you?"

"...He used the money that Zeke, his dad, left to him on drugs. I hadn't used what he left for me, and Kale thought I had the pin number for the account." She was getting quiet.

"Okay then. Did you get any scars from the 'rape'?" He asked. Roxy froze on the spot.

"Miss Forester, answer the question." Judge Casper said.

"...I did get scars. They aren't big, but they're there."

"Would you show these 'scars' to the court?" Angel looked at her, and gave a nod. Roxy looked at Prime, who looked unhappy. Who did that man think he was? He had no right to speak to Roxy like she were an idiot. He narrowed his eyes at him.

Roxy stood up, and turned her back to the courtroom. She grabbed her hair, and pulled up to show her neck. There was silence in the court, as Judge Casper looked at the skin. There were three scars that curved like fingernails. Two on the right curving out, one curving in on the left. "These happened when he did it. He grabbed me so I couldn't move, and dug into my neck." She sat down, keeping her gaze off of Prime. She felt sick.

Conrad frowned. "Nothing further." He sat down next to Kale. Angel stood up, and did her share of questions.

"Roxy, why didn't you come forward when this first happened?" She asked.

"...Kale wouldn't have let me leave. And I couldn't leave my mom alone. She was an alcoholic."

"And when he wasn't home?"

"...He was always home. Went into withdraw. He would freak out and hit stuff, so I stayed in my room with a bat. I used that bat to...to..." her mouth twitched.

"...what did you use the bat for?" Asked Angel calmly.

Roxy twitched again. "...I used it to...g-get Kale off me when...ngngrhr." She gurgled in her throat, unable to say it.

"When he raped you?"

"OBJECTION!" Conrad yelled. Judge Casper glared lightly at the man.

"Over ruled." She looked down from her seat at Roxy, seeming to soften a bit. "Miss Forester, why did you want to get Kale off of you?" She spoke gently.

"Because he was raping me. So I-I hit him with a bat." She mumbled into the microphone. "Uh I thought if I had the bat, he'd st-stay away." Roxy was rocking in her seat. Angel frowned.

"Nothing further."

X...later...X

Kale was on the stand. He looked so fragging smug, like he knew there wasn't a chance he would get locked up. Prime growled. If the court didn't take him down, he would.

"So, Kale," Angel said, hands behind her back, dark eyes unblinking and steady. "Did you give Roxy those scars?" She asked, completely calm.

"No, ma'am, I did not." he lied. Optimus growled again, which got Ratchet to look at him. He couldn't remember seeing his leader this angry outside of a battle. He bumped the holo with his own.

_'Prime, don't do this.'_ He thought, hoping he would calm down. No luck.

"Stop staring at me!" Kale yelled. Judge Casper hit her gavel, and looked at Kale.

"Just who is staring at you?" She asked. Kale swallowed, giving those who didn't know him the impression that he was scared of the 'man' growling at him. He should be scared.

Judge Casper turned to Barricade's holo. "Officer Cage, please escort that man outside." Optimus stood up, and looked at Roxy. She turned to see Optimus giving her an apologetic look. Barricade's holo walked over to him, and the two walked out.

Once outside, Barricade's holo thumped Prime's in the arm. "Prime, we get it! He's an aft. But you have to understand something here. If you so much as talk to the guy, you can get arrested. Do you want us to be **exposed**?" he almost yelled. Prime glared.

"Just who are you Barricade? Neutral or not, you do _not_ talk that way to me or _anyone_ else."

"Last I checked, Prime, _I_ wasn't the one scaring humans." He sneered. He turned quickly back to the doors, and went inside. Optimus looked at the doors as if he could burn holes into them. He looked around, and shut the holo down. He then scanned the building, finding Roxy's boisignature. She was scared without him in the room. That just made him feel even worse.

"This is going to be a long day." He muttered to himself.

Lesson : Don't mess with the law.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Well, not really worth the wait if you're me, but I hope that you enjoyed! More to come.

R&R!


	23. Lesson 23: Wings

You know who I own.

**Brace yourselves.**

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The trial itself had only been going on for about a week, but it had been taking a toll on Roxy. Even Optimus picking her up and holding her over his spark didn't do much. She was too tired to sleep, she had said, before lying on the floor and staring at a wall. Her newest habit. He hated that habit almost as much as the man that did this to her.

And then, before the sun was even up, Roxy asked Optimus something he hadn't expected to hear.

"Am I a whore?" He froze.

"What did you say?"

Roxy had her back to him, staring into space. "Am. I. A. Whore." she said, seeming angry. When he didn't answer, she turned around and yelled. "WELL AM I?!" her voice echoed a bit, giving her angry voice more emphasis than it ever had. He frowned, optics showing nothing but sympathy and patience. Maybe that's why she started crying. He stretched out his arm to her, and instead of climbing into it, she wrapped her arms around his hand. She was hugging him. "...Prime..." was all she got out before she started crying. He hated to see her so broken.

"Please, tell me, why do you think that about yourself?" He asked quietly. She hugged tighter. With his other hand, he scooped her up. "I think I know why you said that...but you know what?" she shook her head, trying to stop. "It doesn't matter what happened to you. No matter what has or will happen to you, you will always be one thing above all other things to me." He pulled his hand out of her arms, and with the utmost care, he tilted her head upward to meet his gaze. "Beautiful." With that Roxy cried harder, but Optimus knew he had made his point clear. By the time the sun came up, she was smiling.

All he wanted from her was a smile. But instead, she smiled at him _because _of him. That was even better.

X...courthouse...X

Roxy sat in her normal chair, with Angel standing in front of the courtroom. "Your Honor, I would like to present our best evidence to the court." Angel said with practiced precision. It was obvious that she was no novice at her profession.

With that, 'Officer Cage' rolled at T.V. into the room, and from behind her back, Angel pulled out a DVD. She placed it into the player, and said, "I have seen this footage, and it is not for those that are easily upset." She said, looking at Prime almost like it were a warning. With her brief explanation, she hit play.

Prime couldn't see the screen very well, but it was the judge and jury that had to see the film. He wasn't certain what it was on the T.V that would lock that man up. The volume was turned up so the entire courtroom could hear it. And with each sound, Prime felt his anger burn.

"_Thump!..._Kale get out!..._SMACK! Thud... _Whats the pin?!..._punch... _WHAT'S THE FCKING PIN?...Let me g-hauguagh! ..._squeak, squeak...SMACK! _GIMME THE FUCKING PIN!..._thump, smack, kick, kick_, _kick, stomp! ... toss ... zip ... bumpbumpbumpbumpbump ... _wah? GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! HELP!..._punch, punch, punch, bumpbumpbumpbumpbump..._no...no! AHHHHHH! STOP STOP STOP PLEASE!! AHHHHHH!_ ...bumpbumpbumpbumpbump... TINK!...AHHHH!...thump...TINK! TINK! TINK! _HOLY SHIT! _TINK! TINK! TINK! SLAM!" _Angel stopped the tape.

"The footage was recorded on a webcam, which also explains why the footage itself is on it's side. Someone knocked it over, and in doing so, it recorded the entire thing. The rape itself... hardly lasted three minutes...and yet it has changed this young woman forever." Angel then shut off the television. She looked over at Roxy, who had her arms wrapped around herself. She then looked at the young man called Sam, who seemed ready to vomit. Then, in the back row, she could make out the twins boys holding each others hand. The gray haired man didn't seem nearly as mad as the brown haired man next to him. She looked at the black man holding the young blond, who she was certain was crying. And, to her surprise, she saw the man called Tim, staring at her. He looked like a mixture of rage and relief.

_'You have every right to be relieved, Mr. Primos.'_ She thought with an inward grin. '_We've nailed him.'_

X...later...X

Angel took a drink of water, and stood up. She looked at the jury, and then started her ever-so-slow walk that went with her closing statement. "There are times, when, lies can be the only way. A little white lie to a greatly complex web of conniving, contorted plans set long beforehand. Now, as you know, this court does _not _approve of liars. Hence our swearing upon the Bible. Not only is Kale a liar, as the tape has hopefully shown to you. But, I am sad to say that, within a three minute time frame, my client, Roxy, became a liar as well..." Angel took a quick glance at Roxy, to see her staring at her hands. Angel continued, letting anger edge her tone.

"She has been lying for the entire 6 years after the attack. She had to lie to herself everyday. When she looked in the mirror, she said 'I look fine' but she did _not_ _feel_ fine. She had to _look_ the people she grew up knowing and caring about _in the eye _and say, 'I'm okay.' But you, the people of the court, I am asking you as not just a lawyer but as a fellow human being...if it were _you _in her place... would _you _be okay?" Angel then sat down, and glanced over at Roxy. She looked like she wasn't there anymore, like she had stopped listening to what had been said. For the arguing sides closing statement, she didn't hear a thing. She felt Kale's eyes shift her way, and she felt Primes eyes burn into him.

X...later...X

With both sides done, the jury was sent back to deliberate. Within ten minutes, they were back out with their decision. "Please rise." said the judge. The entire room rose to it's feet. Angel looked so calm next to Roxy, who distantly regarded Kale's angry gaze. Her focus was on the judge now. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have your honor." The head juror stood up, and handed an envelope to Officer Cage, who handed it to the judge. She read it, and handed it back to the officer. He then passed it back to the head juror.

"On the charge of second degree rape, how do you find?" She asked. Roxy felt dizzy.

"We find the defendant...guilty." He said. Roxy collapsed into her chair. She couldn't believe that he was really convicted. He could never bother her again. But she didn't have much time to think, because Kale suddenly yelled out.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED QUIET YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Officer Cage was trying to cuff him, but the man was fighting back. Another officer tackled Kale, but Kale kept screaming. "You know what?! I paid her! I gave her money to go out that night! I PAID SUSAN LIKE THE SLUT SHE IS! I-GYAH!!" Officer Cage somehow zapped Kale with a stun gun, and he went down hard. He didn't say a word as they dragged him into the back room. Roxy turned around to look at Prime, and she smiled.

"We won, Big Guy." She looked at everyone behind her, and smiled wider still. "We really won!" She turned to Angel and hugged her. Angel hugged back, her teeth flashing through her light purple lips.

They had won.

X...later...X

Roxy was smiling at her place walking next to Optimus, who looked very pleased to say the least. "Roxy, wait!" Someone called out. Roxy kept walking, which made Optimus turn around to see Susan coming after them. He stopped, but Roxy kept walking toward his body. "Please, just stop! I want to talk to you!" She said. Optimus could understand that Roxy didn't _want _to talk to Susan, but the woman was almost begging. Roxy quickened her pace, keeping her back turned.

"Will you at least look at me?" Roxy froze, but then continued to walk away. Susan's sadness took a sharp turn towards anger, and she snapped, "Dammit Roxanna! I said to look at me!" Susan grabbed Roxy by the arm, jerking her backward. And to Primes shock, Roxy turned around and slapped her. It wasn't a hard slap, just one to get Susan to shut up and listen. Susan reached up and touched her slightly red cheek, gray eyes glaring at her daughter, anger fading.

"Do whatever the hell you want." Roxy said, glowering at the sidewalk. "Sell the house, go to New York, get a boyfriend, whatever. You, woman, you are no mother of mine." She knew her words cut deep, she wanted to make the next words sink in. She looked her in the eyes, and said with as much harshness as she could muster. "I love you, but I cannot let those years in that room go. Not after you sided with him. I really do love you, but I'd be better off if I didn't to see you again." She turned around, and didn't look back, even when she heard her crying.

She stayed still even as Optimus' holo came over to her. "Optimus, lets go home." She said, not looking up at him. It was obvious that what she had just done was not easy. He wrapped an arm around her, when someone cleared their throat. It was Angel.

"Roxy, I need to talk to Tim, okay? Just need to clear something up." She said. Optimus released her, and followed Angel over to a concrete bench. "Tim, you may want to sit down." She said, taking a seat. He frowned, and sat down next to her. She locked her coffee-black gaze on him, just like she had done when questioning Kale. "Tim, be honest here. Do you know how old Roxy is?"

"She will be eighteen in two weeks. Why?" He was never one to play dumb, but something told him to with this woman. She was clever.

"And, I have to know, just how old are you?" Oh no, he knew where she was going with this...

"I'm 42, give or take a bit. Where are you going with this?" He said, raising an eyebrow. (1)

Angel blinked, and thought a moment. "Tim, listen to me, k? I see the way you look at Roxy. And I saw the way you looked at Kale. You were about to tear him a new one if the system didn't. That girl may mean a lot to you, but I'm sure that a man your age knows the age rules. So, I'll tell you this now..." He looked at her with narrowed eyes. She knew? What did that mean for them? "...go for it. She's a sweetie, Primos, and you sir, are a good man. Two weeks is no big deal, and it's not like I'm going to say anything about it. So, you take care of her, k?" She smiled at his shocked face, stood up, and turned to her red Camery. "Call me if you need me." and she walked away.

And if he squinted, Prime could swear that he saw a halo over that woman's head.

Lesson : Angels really _don't _need wings.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

'1' Okay, I learned a few days ago the Optimus is about nine million years of age. So, with my math-challenged brain, I came up with him being 40-45 years of age. I honestly don't know how I did it, but I think I picked a good range for him.

Two chapters to go! R&R!!


	24. Lesson 24: Love

You know who I own. Here we go again.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Optimus was keeping an eye on Roxy since the trial ended. It had been an entire week, but he wanted to be sure that she was okay after all that happened. Roxy had gone up to the house to get something to eat. Not even an hour later, someone called him via comlink. But it wasn't one of the bots, it wasn't even Roxy. It was Sam.

"_PRIME!"_ He yelled, jarring Optimus from his thoughts. _"Prime, we have a problem! We need- oh no no no no! JUST GET YOUR BUTT UP HERE! ROXY'S FREAKING OUT!" _Sam's voice cut off, and Optimus was up and running out of the hanger, ignoring the stares of his crew. He had heard Roxy yell something in the background, but he couldn't make it out. He just hoped that she was okay. He saw Sam pace on the deck, and he sped up, halting with a jerk.

"Sam, what's going on? Is Roxy okay?" Sam stopped his pacing, and looked at Optimus with uncertainty. The man looked as nervous as when he was running around with the Allspark.

"Prime, something happened at the prison. Some of the inmates...they uh...they knew about the case...word got around and..." Sam ran a nervous hand through his hair. What about Kale could make him this nervous? Sam swallowed."...Prime, Kale's dead." Everything stopped.

"What?" He wasn't sure what else to say. The man was a monster, why was Roxy so freaked out about it? Then, he thought about it. If he recalled correctly, which he was sure he did, Kale had not only raped Roxy, but it occurred when she was twelve. That would technically make him a rapist...and a pedophile. And those kinds of people were picked on the most in prison, and if Kale was both then... Oh no... "Sam, how did he die? What happened?" The look Sam gave him sent an icy shock to his spark.

"I don't know a lot of it, but the cop told me what he could. They ... they did what he did. They were lifer's. It didn't matter if anyone knew who did it. They must've thought...that he had it coming...and they killed him after it..." Sam looked upset by all of this. Wait...

"They? You mean that...oh Primus." He said, feeling sick all of a sudden. Sam looked angry by the news, but Prime blurted out, "How many?" Sam's fists clenched, his anger rising.

"Four. I'll get Roxy." Sam muttered, then turned back to the house. A moment later, Roxy walked out and onto the deck, horror written on her face. Optimus reached down and scooped her up and headed for the woods.

Within minutes, the hanger would know, but they wouldn't be too upset by it all.He didn't want Roxy to be around when they knew. She couldn't handle it. He walked as far as he thought was safe, and sat down. Roxy climbed up his arm to his right shoulder, and sat down. She was still for a while, just holding her head in her hands. "This...I didn't want _this." _She whispered after sitting still for what felt like forever. "I know what it's like. No one deserves that!"

"I know, Roxy. It's okay." He looked at her, optics lit brightly. Kale had already hurt her once, now he had done it again.

"Optimus?" She said, sounding nervous. He looked at her. "I want to try something out."

"Sure, what is it?" He asked, giving a light smile.

"It's something that, uh, I've always wanted to do... just hold still for me..." She said. He felt her pulse racing under her skin, and he gave a very brief nod. She reached up to his antenna, and held on, slowly moving her hand down so that she could get closer to his face. She looked at his optics, seeing just how complex they really were. There had to be hundreds if not thousands of minute blue lights, each a different shade of beautiful blue. She looked just below his right optic, and saw the scar. That strange marking that she had seen and known back when she was nine year old girl.Back when things weren't so messed up.

She leaned forward, and, as Optimus watched, she kissed the scar. His spark heated and pulsated with pure joy. She had actually kissed him! Then she pulled back, blushing and babbling. "I'm sorry-I didn't mean to- I just- I don't know why I-" He picked her off his shoulder, and held her so that her back was against his palm, and with his optics alight with love, he brought her to his mouth and pressed his lips into her pale stomach. He waited a moment before he pulled back, and he saw her face. She looked almost ready to cry. He didn't hurt her, did he?She climbed out of his hand, back onto his shoulder. She then slid down to his neck, and hugged around it. He felt her nuzzle the wires, and with a cautious turn of his head, he saw her smiling at him.

"Optimus...do you know...how happy this makes me?" she was half panting, half giggling. "Optimus...it's gonna sound weird, but...oh, Primus, I've loved you since that day of the flood. You got the bots to safety, but you..." She smiled, and he smiled, too. "...you drove through a freaking flood to get me home. And you...you wouldn't let me walk to the house, so I got to see your holo..." She pushed herself back onto his shoulder, and looked at him, her smile spreading. "You carried me to the house, and..." She hugged his antenna, her voice going quiet. "You put up with everything my mom said to you." He turned his head, and she let go. She bent down, and kissed him on the mouth.

"It's not weird at all. I have loved you..." He smiled wider. "Since I have known you. I didn't think that I could love anyone after my sparkmate died...but then I met you. I didn't say anything because...well, you were nine! That would have been strange, and then, what your mother was saying would be true. I couldn't let that happen, now could I?" She remembered his telling of his mate. How you normally die when your sparkmate dies. And how he did not die because of the Matrix. That was the first time she hugged him. When he even thought of thinking of her in that light, it felt...wrong. But now...

He just felt happy. And, a week wasn't that much time. He could wait another week...but... they'd waited long enough.

"So, you do love me." She said. He smiled at her. She latched onto his head, and she hummed happily.

"I love you, Optimus."

"And I love you, Roxy. I always will."

Lesson : Love can survive anything.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Well, that was kinda corny. Bet you didn't see Kale getting killed off now, didja? DIDJA?! Yeah, little excited about this almost being done! Please review. Oh, and, I've put up a new poll for the sequel!

One Chapter to go!


	25. Lesson 25: Never

Last Chapter! T.T

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kale was dead. There was no changing that. But with him dead, all ties to the past were cut. Susan was no longer an issue. With no rapist or alcoholic hanging over her, Roxy was free to do whatever she wanted to do.

And the first thing she did was kiss Optimus Prime.

That was four months ago. And it was summer, which meant that the Lennox family summer cookout would be underway. Which meant fun for everyone. And Jazz got the pleasure of being the DJ.

"Lets get it started people!" He yelled out, picking out a song from the Black Eyed Peas. The bots didn't have to use the holoforms if they didn't want to, as the Lennox and Witwicky families knew of there existence. It was going to be one hell of a fun day.

Xxx...later...xxX

Roxy was gnawing on a carrot, talking to Sam. Sam was working the grill, pointing a pair of tongs at it. Roxy smiled and waved her free hand as if to say 'No thanks.' and went back to her carrot. She didn't notice the green optics staring at her from the hanger. Barricade's cerebral processor was working overtime. Did she even know how far he went to make her happy? What he did to set her free?

"Barricade." Said someone from behind him. He turned to see Bumblebee. Bumblebee had his hands on his hips, and seemed to be frowning.

"What do you want?" He growled.

"...how many?" Bee asked.

"Excuse me?" He snapped.

"Don't play dumb with me Barricade. How many did you tell?"

"I don't know what you're-"

"You stubborn slagger! I know everything! You took Kale to jail and didn't come back for a full day! Now tell me. How many. Did you. Tell?" Bumblebee was angry.

Barricade was silent for a moment, and then ground out. "...12...I told twelve. I changed my holo to look like an inmate, and told as many of them as I could." He glared at Bee, who glared back. "That man deserved everything he had done to him. Her needed a harsher punishment than a lifetime in some fraggin' cell."

"That wasn't your call to make. Not ours, not mine, and definitely not yours. Any bot, no matter his emotions, would do such a thing."

"I am _not_ an Autobot. I am a _neutral_. And _I_ did what _I_ thought was right." He growled. "Now what are you going to do? Tell the top bot on me? Tell your ol' buddy Jazz? Tell Roxy that her friend Cade killed the bastard that ripped her apart?"

Bee froze. "...No, Barricade. You have a point. You aren't an Autobot. And I don't think you ever will be. No bot could kill a human. And you know what else?" Barricade's optics narrowed into slits. "She doesn't love you. You think what you did was right? Fine, go on thinking that." Bumblebee walked away. "But it wasn't to her. And you aren't right, either." Barricade's optics closed. The little yellow fragger was right. Roxy didn't love him. She loved that soft-sparked Prime. But that didn't mean he would stop loving her. Oh no.

_'I love you, Roxy.'_ He thought, going into the hanger. He smiled dully, sharp teeth bared. _'And you will learn to love me, too.' _He went into the darkness of his quarters. He'd give it time. Optimus Prime wasn't perfect. He was bound to mess up someday. And on that day, however far it would be, he would be ready. Barricade couldn't contain a silent chuckle at the thought of it. _'I know you will.'_

Xxx...later...xxxX

The sun had set not long ago, and the party was starting to wind down. Jazz decided that it was a good time for a slow dance. The couples gathered on the dance floor. Optimus turned on his holo and strode over to Roxy. She looked up from her fold-out chair to see a blue eyed man in front of her.

"May I have the honor of dancing with the most gorgeous girl on earth?" He asked, smiling with an extended hand.

"No sir." She said, and then smiled at his surprised look. "But I'm free." She took his hand and stood up. He took her other hand, and they stared at each other for a moment. "Do you know how to dance?"

"Do you?" She nodded, and he followed her feet in a simple waltz, following the rhythm of the song.

_All of these lines across my face_

_Tell you the story of who I am_

_So many stories of where I've been_

_And how I got to where I am_

_But these stories don't mean anything_

_When you've got no one to tell them to_

_It's true...I was made for you_

"I love this song."

"You love all songs."

"Oh, not so. I can't stand The Beach Boys."

He chuckled. "True." They continued to dance.

_You see the smile that's on my mouth_

_Is hiding the words that don't come out_

_And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed_

_They don't know my head is a mess_

_No, they don't know who I really am_

_And they don't know what I've been through like you do_

_And I was made for you..._

She grinned at him, and laid her head on his chest. She could hear a light static buzz the holo gave off, and she closed her eyes. The holo placed it's chin on her head, and they stood there as the song ended. "I think this should be our song." He made no reply but hugging her waist.

_Oh yeah, it's true...that I was made for you_

Xxx...that night...xxX

The party goers had gone home long ago, and most of the bots had headed to bed as well. The only two that were still up at that time of night were Optimus and Roxy.

"And...over there! That ones Orion's belt, right?"

"Yes, and what is the one to it's right?"

"Uh...Cetus!"

He chuckled. "Very good. Now, what's above Cetus?"

"Oh, that's easy, Pisces."

"That's right...and what is opposite of Pisces?"

"Hmm...that would be...Leo! Yes!"

"Very good. Now, what is your sign?"

"I'm the ram, Aries. Always have been, always will be." She smiled. "You know, when we used to do this back in Oregon, I wondered why you were so bent on me learning about the stars. Then, I remembered that question I asked you."

"You asked me many questions."

"But this was the one that started it all! 'Where's Cybertron?' And, you took me to a field, and had me learn all the stars. I would ask 'Is that it?' And you would tell me 'No, that's Something else.' It was a game, and I learned everything I could about the stars until I saw the one I couldn't name." She smiled, and pointed to a star that could barely be seen, a dark red pinprick between Auriga and Lynx. "And by then, I knew them all."

"There was a reason I wanted you to learn them other than that. I wanted you to know where they were, where they would be, and where you were. So that, one day, If you were lost, you would find your way back."

"But to where?"

"...Back to me..." She stood up and hugged his wrist, smiling.

"I sometimes wonder what the reason was that I fell for a giant metal robot, and now I wonder why a giant metal robot fell for me..."

"I don't think there is a reason..." He said with a smile.

"Oh come on! There has to be a reason..." She said, and then flopped down next to him on the grass. She smiled, and said dreamily, "Maybe it's up there with the stars...it may be under the changing sea...it may not be..." She tapped his chest plate. "...very far at all"

"Maybe this is just how things are supposed to be..." He said, smiling. She giggled, and sat up.

"Oh, I know! It's in a jar!" He raised a brow plate. She smiled sheepishly. "Hell, it could be something that we've seen..." She laid back down. "Maybe...it's no where at all!" She pushed herself backwards into him. "You may be right, big guy. This is probably how it's supposed to be."

"Probably?" He said incredulously.

"Maybe?" She said. She looked up at the sky, seeing Sirius, the dog star. Her favorite star. "Yeah, after looking back at my old life...this is how it will always be."

"Looking back can be a trap Roxy. If you don't want to remember the past, that's fine. Living here is an easy thing to do...if you want it to be..."

"Are you drunk?"

He chuckled. "Not on high grade."

"I do."

"Hmm?"

"If you think living without the past is what I want, you're right. I do...but I can't do that..."

"Why not?"

"The past shaped me into who I am. If I forget my past, I won't know who I am...and I'd hate not knowing..." He picked her up, and saw how serious she was. She climbed up his arm to his head, and sat next to his neck. "You also shaped me. You made me like who I was. And I love that about you. You bring out the best in us all. I love you so much." She pressed her forehead into his antenna, smiling.

"Thank you." He said.

"For what big guy?"

"...for loving me." She smiled, and hugged him.

"I could do this all night."

"Who says we can't?" With that, he laid down, and let her roll off onto the ground. She crawled up onto his chest, feeling his spark warm her. She looked at the sky one more time, and kissed his chestplate. He placed his hand over her, and the two of them went to sleep. That was the thing about love. It is possibly the strongest thing in existence.

And being such an odd couple probably made it even stronger.

Lesson: Never give up.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

That's it! It's finally over. I can't believe it! Well, I know how much you want the sequel up, but it's going to take a while! I also have the prequel to work on, and a few gift fic's for my loyal reviewers!

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read, fave, and review. With my special thanks to Mrs. Optimus Prime for beta-ing, giving support, and being an awesome friend. I would also like to thank Elita One for being such a sweetie and giving every chapter a review. I also want to thank everyone who stuck by this story even when it got dark.

Thank you all so so much! I hope to see you all at the sequel! Your buddy, EBB.


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